Minneapolis Police have temporarily detained a team of CNN reporters while covering live protests in the city of Minneapolis following the death of black citizen George Floyd during a police arrest.
The incident occurred around 05.10 in the local time, when the special envoy Omar Jimenez covered the arrest of a protester by the Minnesota State Police. At that time, uniformed officers approached the reporter, who was detained with his team without resistance.
All of them were released within a few hours, as confirmed by the chain itself on its Twitter account, after the state governor, Tim Walz, offered his apologies to the president of CNN Worldwide, Jeff Zucker. “It has been totally unacceptable,” said the governor.
The Police have argued that all were detained after ignoring the order to move from the place, although during the live information Jimenez can be heard assuring the police that they will be placed in the place that they are told.
Along with Jimenez, producer Bill Kirkos and journalist Leonel Mendez have been detained, all of them clearly identified as reporters at the time of becoming a police officer, according to the chain.
In the images you can see how Jimenez, still reporting while an agent holds his arm, shows his badge on camera that identifies him as a member of the press.
The third night of protests and looting in the city after Floyd’s death has left at least one man dead from a firearm and a multitude of property damage while Governor Walz has declared a state of emergency. The Police, for their part, have used tear gas in an attempt to stifle the marches, which has caused confrontations between protesters and agents.
City police have reported that they have evacuated all of their staff “in the interest of their safety,” according to a statement from the department’s director of the Public Information Office, John Elder, which CNN has accessed.
