There have been quite a few street reports of police officers illegally enforcing their authority outside of the constitution, and for Tropical Vision (Channel 7) owner, Jules Vasquez and his cameraman, Victor Noble, this became a reality around 7:00 p.m., on Friday, February 4, 2011, when they were both detained in separate incidents.
Noble, who is normally behind the camera, told us that it was a routine reporting which he was doing on Friday night that lead to a corporal detaining him without any explanation or indication of a pending charge.
Noble was at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital, recording footage of a vehicle he believed was in a shooting that had occurred, which had claimed the lives of Daniel Puerto and Ian Martinez. (See story elsewhere in this issue by Daniel Ortiz)
Noble told us that he had been waiting patiently outside in the KHMH’s parking lot; his reporter, Monica Bodden, was inside. “I saw the vehicle that the guys were in, and the police were searching the vehicle, so I was just taking footage,” said Noble.
The corporal had assumed that Noble was taking video footage of him (which is not illegal) and arrested him.
“He came and told me to stop taping and I stopped and I went further away and started videotaping again; he told me to stop again and did and I walked back to the vehicle and was waiting there for Monica [Noble was waiting outside the vehicle]. When they were leaving, four policemen with the corporal [in the police patrol vehicle] stopped and asked me who I was working for, and I didn’t answer them so the corporal came and told me that he has all right to arrest me because I was taking his picture,” said Noble.
The corporal did not inform Noble on the exact violation and charge he [Noble] would be facing; Noble was taken to the Lake Independence police substation.
Vasquez, who was later also arrested, spoke to us about what happened: “At 7:17, I received a text from a friend who said that there was a cameraman who had his camera taken away at the hospital. Well, I was in the middle of the news so I couldn’t deal with it immediately. Vasquez was still unaware that it was Noble who had been detained.
“At 7:27, Monica informed me that he (Noble) had been arrested; the news was very alarming, because there is never any reason for a cameraman to be arrested; I know this young man is barely eighteen, I know he is not prone to craziness or anger,” said Vasquez.
Vasquez visited several police stations until he was informed that Noble was at the Lake I substation.
“I met Inspector Chris Noble (relation to Victor Noble unknown) [at the Lake I substation] and he very calmly told me that he was trying to work it out, but he was waiting for the officer who had detained him.
“You know, to us, a camera is like a sacred object; I exploded and I started to shout that it was outrageous, and that it was an assault on the freedom of the press,” said Vasquez.
At this point, Inspector Noble told Vasquez that he, too, would be arrested for his words.
“Mr. Noble told me that I would have to be detained for my language, so I told him that I would be happy to be detained along with my cameraman, Victor,” said Vasquez.
Both Vasquez and Noble were put inside a holding room at the substation and then transferred to the Queen Street Police Station, where they met with Superintendent Alford Grinage and the arresting corporal.
Vasquez told us that in the meeting, the corporal kept insisting that he was just trying to find out who was videotaping him.
“Let me conclude that it is a public place [KHMH]; there is no offense to tape a police officer in the public execution of his duties in a public area; he does not have any right to approach any member of the media, he does not have a right to question him as a member of the media,” Vasquez told us.
Vasquez and Noble were released from custody about 8:00 p.m., without being charged.