Police have arrested a suspect who reportedly attacked an Associated Press photographer who was attending Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw’s press conference Thursday.
“At an event a short time ago with Philadelphia officials, including Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw, Associated Press Photographer Matt Rourke was attacked, punched in his face and taken to the ground,” CBS reporter Joe Holden said in a Facebook post.
“Officers swarmed the offender and arrested him,” Holden said. “I’m told Matt is okay.”
Rourke was covering the press conference with Democratic Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney and Outlaw when he was punched, according to CBS 3 Philadelphia. Photos posted by Holden show him bleeding heavily while talking to officers.
Another incident occurred Tuesday when two Associated Press journalists were pushed and yelled at by police during a protest in New York City. (RELATED: DC Protesters Accosted, Chased Out An NBC Crew. The Network Isn’t Covering It. We Have It On Video)
Video journalist Robert Bumsted and photographer Maye-E Wong were told by police to go home despite identifying themselves as media, who are exempt from curfews, according to the Associated Press report. When they tried to tell the officers they were media, the confrontation began.
Parts of the confrontation were caught on video. NYPD said they would look into the matter “as soon as possible,” according to the report.