Rochester police have apologized and now say they are investigating why officers arrested two WHAM reporters early Saturday morning.
The Rochester ABC affiliate reporters, Carlet Cleare and Justin Carter, were covering a Black Lives Matter protest when they were detained for what the station says was about ten minutes and then released without tickets or charges being issued.
Both Rochester Police Chief Michael Ciminelli and Mayor Lovely Warren called Cleare and Carter to apologize.
“Two local reporters, Carlet Cleare and Justin Carter, were taken into custody at the scene,” said Ciminelli. “I apologize for that. They were there trying to do their job covering this event.”
From WHAM:
Their arrests were captured on live television as 13WHAM continued to broadcast live until 1:30 a.m. Saturday. Both Cleare and Carter were working as journalists to provide live coverage on 13WHAM-ABC and on Facebook Live where their feeds were regularly used on-air.
Around 12:38 a.m. those live feeds suddenly ended as news cameras captured video of police officers grabbing both reporters, handcuffing them, and escorting them from the area. At that time police were in the process of clearing East Avenue of protesters and crowds by directing people to the sidewalk. Both Cleare and Carter were arrested while many other reporters, photographers, and onlookers in the immediate area were not detained.
RPD reviewing why officers detained #13WHAM reportershttps://t.co/B14sPaeXk8 pic.twitter.com/iuW9nJxP9c
— 13WHAM (@13WHAM) July 9, 2016