Skip to main content

Jane Tyska Video Shows School District Police Chief Art Michel Verbally Abusing Tyska





Oakland Tribune photographer Jane Tyska was just doing her job when an Oakland Police Officer named Art Michel alledgedly hit Tyska as she was filming.  It's too bad Jane didn't get a shot of the car as it went by -- I'd have done that right off. 


But it's clear the Oakland Police are developing a kind of track record of hostility to the press.  First there's the matter of Chauncey Bailey, then there's this issue of the way Jane was treated and detained.


Police should consider journalists as off-limits to their treatment.  To treat someone the way Michel handled Jane, who I know, is not only terrible, it should be grounds for dismissal.  I view it as interfering with a journalist's job, just as a police officer has the right to charge a person who keeps them from doing their job. 


It's obvious Officer Michel was being unnecessarily harsh with Tyska.  He should be forced to at the very least apologize to Jane.  Michel was out of line. 


Here's what the Trib wrote:







The Oakland Police Department on Monday returned a videotape confiscated last week from an Oakland Tribune staffer by Oakland school district police during an immigration rights protest at the Fruitvale BART station.
The Alameda County District Attorney's office has not decided yet if any charges will be brought against Tribune videographer Jane Tyska, who was detained during the protest on Friday. But that office authorized the return of the videotape Monday.
Tyska had the video camera running as she was detained by Art Michel, Oakland Unified School District police chief. On tape, he accuses Tyska of hitting his car, orders her into the patrol car's back seat and at one point accusesWarning: Video contains profanity
her of inciting a riot.




"I didn't hit your car," Tyska says on the tape. "I'm working press."
Michel responds "No, you're a pain in the a-- and you hit my car. Get in the car or I'm going to stuff you in the car."
Michel adds "You're a lying son of a b----, you hit my car, I saw you. I was looking right at you when you hit it."
The encounter lasts a little over two minutes, before ending when the officer demands the tape.
Tyska said the officer grazed her with his car as she was walking backward, videotaping protesters in the middle of the street. He then stopped his car, began yelling profanities at her and accused her of hitting his car and inciting a riot, Tyska said.
"I immediately identified myself as a photographer for the Oakland Tribune, showed him my press pass and said I was just doing my job, but he continued yelling and screaming profanities and said he was going to arrest me."
In his police report, Michel maintained Tyska hit his car while filming and detained her for vandalism about 10:15 a.m. Friday.
Michel's report states that Tyska was detained for blocking the roadway, inciting a riot and breaking a vehicle.
"Her arm struck my vehicle's right-side view mirror. She yelled something that I could not understand, and the crowd started to yell. I immediately stopped and exited my patrol vehicle to detain Tyska for vandalism and blocking the roadway."
Tyska was placed in back of a patrol car and released without citation.
The protest was part of a larger rally by students who were headed to San Francisco for an immigration rights event.
The school district maintained that Michel was trailing the student-protesters as they made their way down International Boulevard when the incident happened.
"The officer confiscated the tape as alleged evidence of the photographer's interference with his ability to conduct his responsibilities, which in this case was protecting student-protesters," district spokesman Troy Flint said Friday.
The video is available on insidebayarea.com. Viewer discretion is advised because of profanity.
"I have spoken at length with Chief Michel about this incident several times since it happened and he has professed regret that the situation ever occurred," said Pete Wevurski, managing editor of Bay Area News Group-East Bay, which publishes Tribune.
"Even so, we could not ignore what's on the tape because we take freedom of the press very seriously. It conveys the right for journalists to perform their jobs without interference by any government agency.
"With that right comes responsibilities, including an obligation to keep anyone from infringing on that freedom or from being emboldened enough to try. I trust that making this tape available to the public will dissuade others from interfering with the job we do on the public's behalf."

Comments

Dawn said…
Unbelievable!
M said…
I think this officer should be removed from his job until he gets psychological evaluation. Even then he should be put on a desk. I'd be willing to bet he has multiple complaints and will eventually do something worse down the road.

Popular posts from this blog

Alex Castro, Electronic Arts VP, Is Oakland’s “Fake Joe Tuman”, “Crocker Mom”

Alex Castro, is currently Vice President Of Product Management At Electronic Arts, and a fairly-well-known and legendary tech executive, regularly quoted in a number of industry publications. But Alex Castro’s also an Oakland resident who has the terrible habit of going online, making traceble email accounts from his Electronic Arts office, and posing as someone […] from WordPress http://ift.tt/1fVkWP9 via IFTTT

Event: Jog For Jill San Francisco Run September 12th Golden Gate Park

Cal Women's Rowing Team member Jill Costello passed away from complications due to lung cancer on June 24th 2010 and at the age of 21. A San Francisco event and run called Jog For Jill has been established and will be held this Sunday, September 12th at 5 PM. Two members of the Cal Women's Crew team were at the Cal vs. Davis football game wearing Jog For Jill shirts, and were kind enough to provide the video interview above. Below are the other details from the event website, where you're encouraged to pre-register here CLICK FOR SITE : Pre-Registration: Online/$25 Day of Registration: 4:00 p.m./$30 Shotgun Start: 5:00 p.m. After run/walk celebration: 6:00 p.m.- 8:30 p.m. Event Location: Golden Gate Park Music Concourse Bandshell S Tea Garden Drive San Francisco, California 94118 Participants are encouraged to pre-register. Only pre-registered participants will be guaranteed a walk/run T-shirt. T-shirts will be limited to the first 2500 day of regis

Oakland Mayor's Race: LWV Forum Draws Oakland's Older Folks

Oakland Mayor's Race Forum first take. (Which means, there's going to be more of these posts on last night, because a lot was happening.) This just in: The Oakland Tribune's out of touch with Oakland. A number of attendees of the 450 estimated said they learned of the Oakland League Of Women Voters via "the newspaper." All of the people who made that statement were over 50 years old. Still, the forum, which attracted every candidate except Dr. Terrance Candell, was a success. The auditorium at 300 Lakeside Drive seats 380 people, so if you do the math, it was about 70 over capacity. The crowd was a happy mix of supporters of candidates and long-time observers of the Oakland political scene. The one complaint they had was there wasn't enough time to hear what the candidates were about. That wasn't because there were too many candidates, but due to the format. Either Oakland Tribune Editor Martin Reynolds or the League of Women Voter