Denver police released bodycam footage showing officers detaining a journalist and telling her to “act like a lady” after she refused to stop photographing an incident involving a naked man on a sidewalk last month.
Susan Greene, editor of The Colorado Independent, was put in a patrol car in July after trying to document police tending to a handcuffed naked man on a sidewalk.
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Video shows the journalist using her cellphone to record the officers interacting with the man on a sidewalk when she was approached by at least two officers.
The journalist is the told she cannot record the situation because it violates HIPAA or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of the nearly naked man police were detaining.
“There’s also a First Amendment,” Greene told an officer. “Have you heard of it?
“That doesn’t supersede HIPAA,” a second officer said.
The journalist was told to step away from the area or face being “arrested for interference.” Greene then attempted to take a photograph of the officer’s badge before the officer blocks her attempt.
“Step away or you will be arrested for interference,” the officer repeats.
An officer then grabs the journalist’s arms and handcuffs her.
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“Stand up straight,” the officer said. “Act like a lady.”
The second officer echoed his colleague.
“Stand up and act like a lady,” he said.
Green responded: “Are you f***ing kidding me? Act like a lady?”
The officer then places Green in a police car, telling her she “can go to jail.” She was released after about 10 minutes.
According to Denver’s 9News, the journalist said she was planning to file a lawsuit against the police department. The news station reported the Denver district attorney’s office had reviewed the incident and decided not to press charges against the officers, while the Denver police department said it had opened an investigation to determine if the officers violated department policy.