Political Reporter - 626K

I was at the demo at W. 34th & Broadway Tueday August 31st, 2004 between 6:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. or so. I'm a state capitol correspondent for The Wisconsin Radio Nework based in Madison. I saw cops shove a peaceful protester into another protester in a wheelchair.There were several hundred people at that intersection at the time, standing on the sidewalks chanting anti-Bush slogans. But nobody was trying to take the streets and the crowd was loud but peaceful. When the cop shoved the protester into the person in the wheelchair, that triggered a sit-down by about a dozen people nearest the police and the curb. As I used a video camera to record the scene cops said the sitdowners were about to be arrested and they ordered all of us back. I told them I was a reporter and I wanted to stay and record the arrest. They accused me of "interference" and threatened me with arrest. I was in the midst of the protesters and I kept recording. Cops shoved me as they were also shoving other people around me, physically forcing us back even though the crowd had been peaceful and was just trying to speak out and protest the GOP convention and the war. At one point a big cop threw two elbow jabs into my chest and stomach and I was threatened that if I didn't get back I would be arrested and lose my media credentials to cover the convention. Listen to my posted audio story that I sent back to air on the Wisconsin Radio Network.