Updated below: Chief Schirling retracts statement, apologizes for mistake.
Does this photograph show a protester from Sunday’s clash with Burlington police grabbing a cop’s baton?
Burlington Police Chief Michael Schirling said on Vermont Public Radio’s “Vermont Edition” today that the photo — snapped by Dylan Kelley and posted online at Seven Days — “clearly” shows the demonstrator in the black bandana grabbing the baton of police Lt. Art Cyr.
“What I see in the photograph, they have a hold of it,” Schirling told VPR host Steve Zind. “They are clearly resisting and you can clearly see in the left of the photo, a man in a black bandana grabbed hold of Lt. Cyr’s baton, and that is what precipated the first event.”
Activists and cops have traded accusations about who’s to blame for the incident in which police fired “stingball pellets” into a crowd of demonstrators blocking a bus of dignitaries from leaving a conference of New England governors and eastern Canadian premiers. The tension gave way to a moment of cooperation yesterday when demonstrators and their lawyer called for a dialogue with police about the events that led to the clash.
After hearing Schirling’s remarks on VPR, the photographer who took the picture said he was “livid,” calling Schirling’s claim “an absolute lie.”
“If you look at the picture, it clearly illustrates that that person’s hand is not wrapped around the baton,” said Dylan Kelley, who has photographed occupy protests around the country. “It is wrapped around a flag or banner or something else. If you zoom in on that lower left hand corner of the frame, and you look at that person’s hand, it is not wrapped around the baton.”
Kelley, who said he was at most four feet away from Cyr, sent Seven Days higher-resolution version of the photograph, which we zoomed in on and cropped to publish here. From the photograph, it’s difficult to say what the bandana-clad protester is clutching, and Schirling was not immediately available Thursday afternoon to respond to Kelley’s comments.
Update – 4 p.m.
Upon viewing the close-up of the photograph, Chief Schirling has retracted his earlier statement made on Vermont Public Radio. In a statement emailed to Seven Days and VPR Thursday afternoon, Schirling said:
“On the show earlier today I described a photograph from the 7 Days website that was given to us this morning as showing a man grabbing an officer’s baton. A few moments ago 7 Days emailed us a much higher resolution enhanced version of the photograph. Upon examination of this new photograph we realize it is not the baton. We will work during our investigation and ‘after action’ review to try to determine what it is. Our assessment of this portion of the event was based solely on the photograph available earlier in the day. I want to be sure we set the record straight as quickly as possible as new information comes to light. I apologize for the error. We continue to ask that anyone with information about this incident, video, photographic, or otherwise, contact us so we may be as thorough as possible.”
This article appears in Aug 1-7, 2012.
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Not only that but the story then became Marni grabbed a baton in typical police truth drift. I had this experience years a go when George Bush senior came to town watching the police make hash out of truth. There are good cops and bad cops like in everything but the police always close ranks around their bad ones when exposed to the public.
Freeze, Get back, stop. All commands issued by police that should be followed. Dark alley middle of night nobody knows whos who ok lets get out in the light and solve issue. This issue broad daylight no question whos whos Keep it up protestors and you will meet shoot to kill face first.
I’m not fure free speech means “grabbing a police officer”. Go limp, lay on the ground, resist peacefully, etc. I’d buy. Physically responding to an officer, not very smart.
And if the protester is grabbing onto something attached to the officer, let me ask this question, if any of you were being pushed, by anybody, wouldn’t you grab something to keep from falling? I would. falling on pavement can hurt like hell.
I would agree but the question is is the object in question attached to the officer in some way? We don’t even know what that is and the officer could be simply leaning in to the protester against what ever the object is.
Not the baton, man. Have to drop that charge.
It puzzles me how, in an instance where there is clearly a use of harmful physical force – violence – by an armed individual towards several unarmed individuals, with no clear evidence of those individuals resisting or interfering with the armed individual’s performing of a job function. The armed individual happens to be a police officer – that is, a bureaucrat with a gun, bestowed by the state with a sanctioning to harm individuals when they are deemed non-compliant with dominant social order. In other words, law.
I fail to understand why in so many people’s eyes police violence is rendered invisible simply because it is exerted upon persons who are deemed to be in violation of the law. I equally fail to understand why so many people choose to identify with the perpetrators of violence in these sorts of situations, whom by and large are the police, but also, the political and economic elite whom they are “protecting” (making inaccessible to the general public).
Police are not immune from ethical and moral scrutiny. There is no moral justification for physical violence and brutality simply because people will not move; the situation could have been handled far more peacefully, professionally, and responsibly. The BDP’s attempt a getting a story out there that is patently false will come back to haunt them, as it only further shatters the illusion that their authority is a legitimate one even when they are clearly no longer acting in the interest of the public they ostensibly protect and serve.
The BDP is acting like an abusive spouse trying to make up excuses for their reprehensible behavior towards their traumatized partner, all the while cheerfully telling the neighbors that the screams they heard last night were coming from the television. As a community, I feel it is time for an intervention – a serious dialogue where we discuss, outside of the flash and pizzaz of scripted talking points and press conferences, what the role of the BDP in Burlington is right now, and what it ought to be.
um no he’s not look at the pic again, in relation to where his hand is, if he had the cop’s radio the wire connecting the mic (which is located on top) would located much higher up in the photo. I don’t know what is in the protester’s hand but it’s not baton, or radio. try again. I’m a ham enthusiast, and a radio hobbyist, no hand held cb or ham frequency radio I’ve ever seen has the mic attached to anywhere other than the top. at that angle his hand would have been gripping the wire which is clearly not what he’s gripping. Edit sorry this was meant in reponse to Keilani Lime
I will add the person has a covering around his face. Many retailers now have signs to the effect no hoodies allowed etc.
Even if the officer is intruding on your constitutional right to speech by doing so? I’m not saying this is clear, I am just wondering if that matters.