by Patrick H. Moore
We always root for justice. Sometimes the “criminals” turn out to be the bad guys and sometimes it’s the other way around; the men in uniform turn out to be the jerks. This time it’s the men (man) in uniform. NYPD officer, Michael Ackerman, has been indicted on three felony counts of falsifying records in his bogus 2012 arrest of New York Times photographer, Robert Stolarik. This case is the piece de resistance of the many photography arrest cases which have occurred in various parts of the country over the past few years.
It began in August of 2012 when, according to free-lance writer and photographer Peter Maiden, Robert
Stolarik, a ten-year regular with the New York Times “was photographing a developing street hassle when he was asked by a policeman to stop taking pictures. Stolarik, who was on assignment covering the NYPD’s controversial “stop-and-frisk” policy, identified himself as a professional and continued to work. Stolarik reported that a second cop appeared, took Stolarik’s camera, and slammed it into his face. The police department said in their official report that Stolarik struck a cop “inadvertently” with his camera. In any event, Stolarik was subsequently beaten by multiple officers, and the beating was recorded on video by a fellow reporter. Stolarik’s $20,000 worth of camera equipment was confiscated, and he went to a local hospital.
In a Times Intelligencer interview, Stolarik, who is 43, said, “I always try to be reasonable. But there’s going to be a next generation [of journalists] to come up, and if we accept this type of behavior, what happens to that next group of people?”
Well, strange as it seems there may be some measure of justice here and Stolarik is completely exonerated. Chris Francescani of Reuters writes:
A Bronx grand jury indicted NYPD officer Michael Ackermann on Monday in a case stemming from his arrest in August 2012 of photographer Robert Stolarik, whom Ackermann said had interfered with the arrest of a teenage girl.
Ackermann, 30, said in a police report at the time that Stolarik had repeatedly set off the flash on his camera in his face – blinding and distracting him – during the arrest.
But Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson said in a statement that an investigation determined that Stolarik’s camera did not have a flash attached at the time of the arrest, which took place at 10:30 p.m. on August 4, 2012.
It turns out they stack the counts in police defendant cases just like they do in regular criminal cases. Ackerman is indicted on three felony counts and five misdemeanor counts of falsifying records and making false statements.
The most serious felony, tampering with public records, carries a seven year state prison term. Ackermann was released without bail on Monday following arraignment in state court in the Bronx. He is suspended without pay.
All charges against Stolarik are dropped.
His arrest occurred when he was photographing the arrest of a teenage girl following a street fight. A police officer told him to stop taking pictures. He did not comply, identified himself as a Times photographer and continued to shoot film. That’s when the police took to beating him with his own photographic equipment.
The cops’ discredited story is quite different. They claimed that Stolarik and others had been repeatedly ordered to move back, but that Stolarik pressed forward and inadvertently struck an officer in the face with his camera. They also said he “violently” resisted arrest.
A New York Times spokeswoman, Abbe Serphos, a New york Times spokewoman said in a statement:
“We are pleased that officials in the Bronx took a serious look at this case and brought an indictment after finding police misconduct.
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Well, it’s a shame you’ve got to watch the men in blue but you do. The actual percentage of seriously “bad cops” may not be that high but who really knows? Only the perpetrators know for sure and they’re singularly close-mouthed. At least this time they finally got the right guy.
What’s ironic and grimly amusing in this case is that the judge, in theory, must now sentence Ackermann in a manner consistent with deterring more police misconduct on the part of more “bad cops.” It’s a helluva thing to realize that a certain percentage of cops all over America are like Michael Ackermann and are willing to betray their oath of service because — in truth — they are thugs in uniform. In doing so they make the honest men in uniform look bad.
Click here to read Peter Maiden’s earlier post about the Robert Stolarik photography case:
Is Photoraphy a Crime? A Pseudo-Crime? Something Is Wrong with This Picture