PENNSYLVANIA — A photographer for the Pennsylvania State
University
Daily Collegian has been ordered to appear in court Dec. 10 to
face misdemeanor charges after covering a riot in downtown University Park, Pa.,
*
in October.
The photographer, Michael Felletter, a 20-year-old junior at Penn State,
was charged with one count of failure to disperse and one count of disorderly
conduct as he was covering the Oct. 25 riot, which followed a Penn State
football victory against Ohio State.
Collegian Editor in Chief Terry Casey said that Felletter had been
asked to cover the riot by the paper's photo editor. As the police moved
in to stop the riot, Felletter identified himself as a member of the press and a
police officer allowed him to remain in the area.
According to a Collegian article, State College police officer Nick
Argiro said in the criminal complaint that he told Felletter to leave the area
twice and that he failed to do so. When Argiro saw Felletter a third time, he
took his driver's license.
Felletter said in the Collegian article that he was only asked to
leave the scene of the riot once by Argiro. He said Argiro threatened him with
pepper spray and arrest, and when he continued to take pictures of Argiro over
his shoulder as he left, the officer demanded his license. He denies police
charges that he refused to leave when told and that he incited the crowd to
become more destructive.
"I never obstructed the police in any way, nor did I make any act to
escalate the situation further," said Felletter in an e-mail. "I
was there to do my job, nothing more."
Casey said that Felletter did not do anything wrong by covering the
riot.
"He did have a right to be there covering the event, and when he was
asked to leave he did cooperate," said Casey. "So the only thing he
did that sort of ticked off police, it sounds like, is to take photos as he
walked away."
State College Police Capt. Dana Leonard could not comment on
Felletter's case specifically, but said his charges are common for people
at the scene of a riot.
"The specific charge of failure to disperse means there's a
disorder in the vicinity, and the police, in order to restore order, order
people to disperse," Leonard said. "They're ordered to
disperse, and if they fail to do so, they can be charged with the
misdemeanor."
Casey said that following the riot, police officers approached both
Felletter and the Collegian to obtain unpublished photos in order to
identify riot participants. Both students told the police that it was against
the Collegian's policy to turn over photos that had not been
published, and the police did not press the issue.
Casey said that Felletter will remain on the staff of the Daily
Collegian.
"We are supporting our photographer," he said.
By Caitlin Wells, SPLC staff writer
CORRECTION, 11/20: An earlier version of this article said Penn State was in State College, Pa. The SPLC regrets the error. Return to story
