A news crew from News Channel 13 out of Albany,
New York was harassed by a
corrections officer while filming a stand-up near a
soon-to-be-abandoned prison in Wilton. The officer told them they
couldn’t film near the prison without permission from the state
government. The news crew was actually okay with this and willing
to comply. Reporter Mark Mulholland told the corrections officer
the crew was going to relocate to a nearby public historical site,
Grant’s Cottage, where Ulysses S. Grant died.
That’s where things turned South. At the beginning of the
encounter the officer told the cameraman not to film him but the
cameraman, knowing his law, continued to film the officer and his
interaction with Mulholland. The footage (watch below) shows that
the corrections officer was opposed to Mullholland filming at the
public historical site—a location that was open at the time, that
tourists were visiting, and in which the news crew had filmed
yesterday.
Mulholland pushed back as the corrections officer exceeded
his authority by trying to prohibit that as well and remove them
from the entire mountain. The footage shows the correctional
officer also display an unprofessional and embarrassing attitude
for a law enforcement official. After the news crew departed for
Grant’s College, another corrections officer blocked the
road—allowing other cars through but not the news crew. Then
corrections officers called state police and tried to confiscate
the news crew’s video because it contained footage of an abandoned
prison, threatening the crew with arrest. Executives from the news
station had to call state officials to resolve the situation.
The Department of Corrections (DOC) released a statement to the
station regretting the escalation but avoiding responsibility:
“We regret that this situation escalated, however the WNYT news
crew blatantly disregarded a state officer who informed them they
were trespassing. Department regulations state that photographs
taken while on Prison property require prior permission. This
policy is for the safety of all staff, visitors and prisoners.”
News Channel 13 notes there haven’t been any prisoners at the
soon-to-be abandoned prison in several months. The footage, which
you can watch as part of the segment below, appears to contradict
the rest of the DOC’s narrative:
h/t Adam P.
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