This article originally published by the Committee to Protect Journalists.
On September 17 last year, St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter Mike Faulk was covering protests over the acquittal of a former police officer in the killing a year earlier of man named Anthony Lamar Smith. At about 11 p.m., officers formed a line across Washington Avenue near Tucker Boulevard in downtown St. Louis, and officers in full riot gear blocked the other three streets. Hearing the order for protesters to “Move back,” Faulk found that he had nowhere to go, according to an account by his lawyer.
Faulk was arrested alongside approximately 100 protesters, bystanders, and other journalists–all caught in a police tactic known as kettling. The method involves police encircling a group to prevent any exit before advancing, and it is often followed with indiscriminate detentions and arrests. Of the 34 journalist arrestsdocumented by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker last year, CPJ found that 22 were detained in kettles.
Journalists caught in kettles can face lengthy periods of legal uncertainty, high legal costs, and job insecurity, particularly if equipment is seized. Unlike staff journalists who are often released after police verify their credentials, freelancers can be vulnerable because they lack the backing of a large outlet to help secure their release or pay legal costs.