The New York Police Department’s top uniformed officer was acquitted last week of misconduct for ordering his subordinates to “lock up” licensed photojournalists during protests last year, according to information obtained by the New York Post.
Last Thursday, the NYPD’s oversight board, the Civilian Complaint Review Board, exonerated Officer John Chell following an investigation into the arrest of freelance photographer Stephanie Keith during a May 2023 protest.
Keith was charged with misconduct after he was filmed filming a protest following the choking death of Jordan Neely, and Chell was heard demanding that two NYPD community affairs officers “lock her up.”
Keith was covering a rally outside Manhattan’s Broadway-Lafayette station when police officers began charging at protesters.
The award-winning photographer was walking with another photographer when a senior police officer yelled out: “Get on the sidewalk!”
Minutes later, Chell grabbed Keith’s arm and ordered him to “lock her up,” according to video of the incident.
Photos from the scene clearly show Keith being arrested and taken away by community officers with his wrists handcuffed behind his back, with a camera and his official New York City press pass hanging around his neck.
When two officers grabbed the photojournalist, whose work has appeared in The New York Times and Reuters, she reportedly shouted, “I’m the press, I’m the press. I’m a journalist. I’m the press.”
“And they said, ‘No, you’re under arrest,'” Keith previously told The Washington Post.
“It was really traumatic,” she said of her arrest.
A June 20 letter announcing the board’s decision, reviewed by The Washington Post, said CCRB investigative staff conducted a “thorough and impartial investigation” of the arrest after receiving multiple complaints.
The watchdog group determined that Chell’s actions were “within police guidelines,” meaning that despite the allegations, they were not considered misconduct under New York state law and NYPD patrol guidelines, the letter said.
Chell previously claimed Keith had interfered in three of her arrests and demanded that he be handcuffed.
However, Keith firmly denied the allegations.
“I definitely did not interfere with their arrest,” she told The Washington Post at the time.
“When you watch the video, you have no idea what they’re talking about,” she added. “The press photographers always keep a very respectful distance. We just want to get a picture of what’s going on. All we want is to get a picture.”
The CCRB letter announcing the board’s decision on Chell’s charges did not say whether the board’s investigative team found evidence that Keith interfered with the arrest.
