NEWARK (CN) - Newark Police officers strong-armed a Spanish-language newspaper editor and photographer to prevent them from reporting on a murder weeks after the murders of three college students in a Newark schoolyard gave the city a black eye, Brazilian Voice editor Roberto Lima claims.
In his Federal Court suit, Lima saysNewark cops unconstitutionally demanded his photographer's photos of a murder victim, after the Voice reported the body to the police.
Lima claims his staff found and reported to the defendants that they had found a body in a trash-strewn alley. Defendants Deputy Police Chief Sam Demaio confiscated the photographer's camera and questioned the staff members about their immigration status, in violation of state law, Lima says. He says Demaio ordered him not to publish any photos of the crime scene.
Demaio then unconstitutionally seized the camera and photos and arrested Lima and the photographer and had them taken to police headquarters where they were handcuffed to a holding bench until they agreed to give up all copies of the murder scene photos, Lima claims. He demands punitive damages. See complaint.
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