In an article published on their website today, December 7, 2014, the Kansas City Star erroneously reported [S]everal people briefly detained in die-in protest of police at Crown Center. One Struggle KC responded to the error with the following statement. The author of the article has responded and has promised to change the erroneous information contained in the article, stating that the information regarding detentions was provided by the Kansas City Police Department: Phrase in Question:Headline - Several people briefly detained in ‘die-in’ protest of police at Crown Center. Text: Several people were briefly detained by Kansas City police during a Sunday afternoon protest at Crown Center. Police said that no arrests were made and that those detained were allowed to leave with the other protesters. Our Concern: This information is patently false and dangerous. No persons participating in the protest today were detained by law enforcement. Though not organized by One Struggle KC, members of One Struggle KC were present and exercising their First Amendment right to free speech. One Struggle KC has spoken to persons who were serving in the capacity of Legal Observers with the National Lawyers Guild at the demonstration, as well as persons documenting every aspect of the demonstration, and there were no persons detained who participated. It is dangerous to issue such false information because it has the impact of deterring other members of the public who may be affected by the issues at hand from joining other community members in the exercise of their right to protest. It is extremely disappointing and disheartening that journalists would engage in such actions having the impact of dampening free speech. As such, One Struggle KC is strongly urging that a correction be made immediately to the article. We also strongly take issue with the fact that this story was reported under the Crime section of the newspaper website. Vilifying persons exercising their rights is unfair and highly inflammatory. Todays demonstration and every demonstration in Kansas City since the Ferguson No True Bill announcement has been peaceful. In fact, several city officials have expressed support for community members exercise of their right to free speech. Again, we would strongly urge you to correct the reported errors and remove the article from the Crime section. Every member of the Kansas City community should have the right to publicly express their opinion without fear of detention or arrest, or the fear that their participation in any public display of protest would be demonized. Thank you, in advance.
Posted on: Mon, 08 Dec 2014 03:03:11 +0000