Arrest of reporter for disturbance at Annandale parade under investigation
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| Fairfax County police officers subdue reporter Mike Stark. [Shareblue Media] |
An incident involving
a reporter arrested for causing a disturbance at the start of the Annandale
parade Oct. 28 is being investigated by the Fairfax
County Police Department’s Bureau of Internal Affairs.
a reporter arrested for causing a disturbance at the start of the Annandale
parade Oct. 28 is being investigated by the Fairfax
County Police Department’s Bureau of Internal Affairs.
Wilfred Michael Stark
III, 49, of Falls Church, was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting
arrest. According to the FCPD, he was standing in the middle of Gallows Road
and Columbia Pike, cursing, and causing a disturbance
III, 49, of Falls Church, was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting
arrest. According to the FCPD, he was standing in the middle of Gallows Road
and Columbia Pike, cursing, and causing a disturbance
Stark, a reporter for
Shareblue Media, was there to cover the campaign of Republican gubernatorial
candidate Ed Gillespie. He claims the police overreacted by violently pinning
him to the ground.
A video of the incident on the Washington Post website shows an officer asking Stark to step
off the road where the parade was about to enter. Stark tells the police, “I’m
just a reporter doing my job.” When another officer tells him, “If you curse
again you will go to jail,” Stark yells, “F— this!”
off the road where the parade was about to enter. Stark tells the police, “I’m
just a reporter doing my job.” When another officer tells him, “If you curse
again you will go to jail,” Stark yells, “F— this!”
Stark is then pushed
up against a fence. There’s a struggle, he’s pushed faced down on the sidewalk,
pinned by two officers, and handcuffed. “I think they were letting me know who was boss,” Stark wrote in an
email to the Post. “It was unnecessary, unlawful, and violent, but not brutal.”
up against a fence. There’s a struggle, he’s pushed faced down on the sidewalk,
pinned by two officers, and handcuffed. “I think they were letting me know who was boss,” Stark wrote in an
email to the Post. “It was unnecessary, unlawful, and violent, but not brutal.”
The Shareblue website reports this wasn’t the first time Stark had been harassed by Gillespie’s campaign for trying to ask questions. “Gillespie has repeatedly dodged questions from Stark about his increasingly racist campaign, uncomfortable endorsement from Donald Trump, and his use of his position in the Bush White House to do the bidding of his corporate lobbying clients,” Shareblue states.
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| Stark [FCPD] |
Police Chief Edwin C. Roessler Jr. defended the action of the police officers at a media briefing Oct. 31. “I’m standing before you to defend the lawful actions of my police officers enforcing the law to protect our community at a parade,” Roessler said. “I will remain transparent moving forward by providing updates to the community.”
The preliminary
investigation shows that police officers asked Stark to move out of the street,
stop using obscene language, and show his hands, the FCPD states. When he
refused to comply, “he was taken to the ground to maintain control and ensure
the safety of not only the officers, but also others in the area.”
investigation shows that police officers asked Stark to move out of the street,
stop using obscene language, and show his hands, the FCPD states. When he
refused to comply, “he was taken to the ground to maintain control and ensure
the safety of not only the officers, but also others in the area.”
After he was notified
of the arrest, Roessler said he ordered the incident be reviewed by Internal
Affairs.
of the arrest, Roessler said he ordered the incident be reviewed by Internal
Affairs.
“Preliminarily, it
doesn’t appear any policy was violated, but we are just several days into this
investigation,” he said. “We continuously strive to maintain transparency and
accountability with our community and will provide further information if there
are significant developments.”
doesn’t appear any policy was violated, but we are just several days into this
investigation,” he said. “We continuously strive to maintain transparency and
accountability with our community and will provide further information if there
are significant developments.”
Anyone with
information, photos, or videos of the incident should contact the Internal Affairs Bureau.
14 responses to “Arrest of reporter for disturbance at Annandale parade under investigation”
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I'm sorry, but claiming to be a reporter is no excuse for being a jerk — which this guy plainly was. And as far as being a "reporter" he is no more than a propagandist for the Dems. Check out the company he works for. Makes no secret of its agenda.
“I’m just a reporter doing my job,” Stark is heard saying at one point.
“If you curse again, you will go to jail,” a second officer later tells Stark.
Stark then yells loudly: “F— this!”
What an idiot
The "reporter" was being a jackass and was indeed disturbing the peace, but I watched the video and there was no reason he needed to be taken to the ground and have "avoiding arrest" charges placed against him. He had 4 officers on top of him which prevented him from providing his arm to the officer (his arm was pinned). I had that exact situation happen to me when I was in high school, and the officers pulled my arm out of its socket despite me telling them I couldn't give it to them and screaming in pain. to this day, its hard for me to play catch with my kids because of that. That's everyday police brutality folks.
The guy getting arrested was probably legit, but I certainly hope IA and the civilian review panel takes a long hard look at how the officers performed the arrest.
Oh wait… civilian review panel isn't allowed to look at "use of force" incidents. Useless.
In this day standing in the middle of the street, cursing and then when confronted by police who ask you to show your hands – because let's face it that guy was acting crazy- and NOT complying. I am with the police on this one.
I'm with the police officers. The police did not know if in fact he was a reporter, if he was armed or who knows what his intentions where. Why did he just step aside show his badge and move to the side? thanks officer for your quick reaction. We cant take chances on this scare and crazy times we are on. Love you guys and may God Bless you for the brave work you do everyday. Risking your life so others can be safe.
“I’m standing before you to defend the lawful actions of my police officers enforcing the law to protect our community at a parade."
Obviously Chief Roessler has kept a totally open mind here and hasn't predetermined the outcome of his "investigation." What a disgrace.
This! The Chief has tainted the investigation before it begins. If IA was actually independent, then maybe it would be different, but IA reports to the chief of police (Roessler).
Roessler can really annoy me… His record at keeping the crime rate relatively low isn't half bad, but he led the coverup to the Geer killing – to which he never saw any reprimand or anything that I'm aware of – and now he has predisposed this investigation to be a sham.
Yikes. He was on the sidewalk in the video. He may have been in the road before, but when they threw him to the ground, he was ON THE SIDEWALK. Looks like they arrested him for using a profanity, saying "F* this!" Is that illegal?
Virginia has a law and Fairfax has an ordinance against swearing, but both are widely regarded, at least by lawyers I work with, as probably at risk of being overturned if someone ever challenged them. Similar rules that hinge just on speech and particular words have been overturned in the past (see "Burgess v. City of VA Beach"), and there was an effort to get rid of the noncompliant Virginia statute last year that stalled in the House of Delegates.
There's a more grey area around "disorderly conduct", with a fine line based on whether someone's conduct threatens violence and thus a need to use physical force. (You can Google "Ford v. City of Newport News" and "Jolinski v. Commonwealth" if you want to read some examples.)
I'm not a judge, but I could see it going either way, particularly with the video, which doesn't (at least to me) really seem to suggest an imminent escalation to violence on the part of Stark. Maybe he'll be a test case.
Stark was not "harassed by Gillespie’s campaign." He was arrested by FCPD for disorderly conduct.
I was there at the parade when this happened, standing on the opposite side of Columbia Pike (near Aldi / Cue Club). I didn't notice any sort of disturbance up until the police officers started running. I am very skeptical of the claim that the man was standing in the street. He certainly wasn't standing "in the middle of the street", which would have been very noticeable. I think he was standing in the driveway of the Methodist Church where it exits, immediately across from Gallows Rd, and then backed up onto the curb at the point where the video starts. While the video doesn't leave anyone looking particularly good, I think the police officer had an opportunity to de-escalate the situation that they didn't take.
I am honestly surprised, since my interactions with Fairfax PD have been uniformly excellent and I've personally seen them deal with far more difficult people than the "reporter" in this situation without the situation becoming violent. It looks suspiciously like the police officer lost his temper and then came up with an ex post facto justification.
I also thought it was unfortunate that the Washington Post article about the incident characterized the Annandale Parade as an "event for GOP candidate Ed Gillespie", making it sound like a partisan event, which it was not; there were a variety of local politicians and candidates there. (Although I think they have since revised the title of the article.)
FCPD is looking for witnesses. https://wtop.com/fairfax-county/2017/11/police-looking-video-witnesses-annandale-parade-arrest/
This is an easy one. Something that I have even talked to my children about. When a police officer makes a (reasonable) request, you comply. Plain and simple. If the officer tells you not to shout profanities. You stop. You can disregard their reasonable order, but don't complain when they react in a manner you disagree with. If the PO's reaction is lawful then you have wasted resources that could be better spent elsewhere. Ditto if they react unlawfully, you may prevail but what did he accomplish–making the point that acting like a jerk is legal. Great, thanks for the civics lesson. Now everyone knows you are a loon and your credibility as a "reporter" is shot.
Holy moly! I just watched the video. I would totally sue the police department over this, and I have never sued anyone in my life. Outrageous.