*Kevin Moore, the man who filmed Freddie Gray’s arrest, was himself arrested at gunpoint following “harassment and intimidation” from Baltimore police, he told reporters today.
Moore, who also revealed that he is part of the underground hacktivist network known as Anonymous, claims that despite having co-operated with two detectives in the Baltimore Police Department’s Office of Internal Oversight and given them the video of Gray’s arrest, police posted his photo and told the public that he was “wanted for questioning,” asking people to identify him.
“What is so important that you have to plaster my picture over the Internet? I’ve already spoken,” Moore told The Independent, suggesting that they posted it simply to intimidate him.
Moore said he was finally taken into custody Thursday night along with two other members of “We Copwatch,” a group dedicated to filming and documenting police work. He was taken to Western District police station and released two hours later.
Moore gave details of his arrest to the blog PhotographyIsNotACrime.com:
The law caught up to him Thursday night, handcuffing him and two friends at gunpoint during a traffic stop that involved two police helicopters, one armored car, a police SUV and plenty of military looking cops with guns.
“It looked like something out of a video game,” he said during a telephone interview with Photography is Not a Crime Early this morning.
“We asked them why are we being detained. They said it was because we made an illegal turn.”
That illegal turn, according to police, consisted of the driver using a left turn signal to make a right turn, which Moore finds very dubious.
Moore said he did not have identification on him, but when he told them his name, a flash of recognition crossed their faces and they ordered the paddy wagon.
Moore and his two friends were handcuffed and transported to the Western District police station. He was released two hours later with no explanation and no charges.
However, his two friends, who had driven up to Baltimore from Ferguson to help establish a We Copwatch chapter, were not released.
Moore was never told why, but he believes it was because they were from out-of-town, so they wanted to send a message to scare outsiders away.
“I know think didn’t like the Missouri tag,” he said.
Moore said he recorded video of the traffic stop, which will be edited by We Copwatch and posted today.
Moore details his arrest and praises State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby below:
We Publish News 24/7. Don’t Miss A Story. Click HERE to SUBSCRIBE to Our Newsletter Now!
