Media outlet demands apology after Ottawa police arrests citizen journalist

A photo shows the arrest of Ramona Murphy during a demonstration protesting CANSEC in Ottawa on May 28. Photo by Andy Tran /HandoutArticle content

A volunteer-operated media outlet is decrying the arrest of one of its volunteer journalists at a protest opposing the CANSEC military trade show in Ottawa on May 28.

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The North Star, an independent media organization, said Ramona Murphy was one of the 13 individuals arrested by the Ottawa Police Service during demonstrations that sought to disrupt the annual major arms show.

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In a news release, the organization said Murphy was videorecording police at the time of her arrest.

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Of the 13 protesters arrested, 12 were detained near the EY Centre, where CANSEC was being held. The protest had blocked Uplands Drive, though the street reopened later.

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Another demonstrator was later arrested in a separate demonstration in front of OPS headquarters on Elgin Street.

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The North Star said police threatened Murphy with mischief and resisting arrest charges, but she was released without charge eight hours later.

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“Arresting a journalist, whether a volunteer or not, is a frontal attack on press freedom,” the news release added.

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Bruno Le Héritte, a spokesperson for The North Star, said citizen journalists were recognized “as important as any other journalist.”

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“I think everyone who tries to reveal the truth about the world is important,” he said. “When people say we are in a democracy, then we should prove that.”

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In 2021, Darnella Frazier won a Pulitzer Prize for her recording of the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minn., which set off a global reckoning on racial injustice and police brutality.

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Le Héritte said those who were doing their job documenting protests shouldn’t have to worry about the risk of arrest.

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The Ottawa Police Service could not confirm whether or not there was an exclusion zone set up for media during the protests against CANSEC. An exclusion zone is a practice by police to place journalists in a specific area and away from a police operation.

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In an interview, Murphy said that, if there was an exclusion zone, it was “difficult to ascertain where it was” given how quickly the police formations shifted.

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Murphy also said she was one of the first people arrested and had the phone she was using to record knocked out of her hand before she was pulled away from the demonstration and handcuffed.