Democratic National Convention coverage
By Carlos Miller
Brown Palace Hotel officials claim that the ABC news crew was blocking the entrance to the hotel, making it impossible for guests to enter or leave, which is why police ended up making an arrest.
They insist that police asked the reporters to step aside, even informing them that they had every right to stand on a public sidewalk, but the reporters insisted on standing in the doorway, which gave police no option but to arrest ABC producer Asa Eslocker.
It doesn’t sound much different than the way Miami police accused me of standing in the middle of a busy intersection, refusing to leave, which is why they had no choice but to arrest me.
I wasn’t standing in the middle of the street and I doubt the ABC news crew was blocking the entrance.
The comments came from Brown Palace Hotel public relations manager Shannon Dexheimer, who was responding to an email from one of my readers, who then forwarded the email to me.
The exact interchange is below, starting with the email that my reader sent to the hotel’s marketing department.
I will be alerting as many people as possible to ask them avoid staying at your hotel at all costs.
To use the police to have a photographer who was on public property arrested shows just how un-American you people are.
You deserve nothing but contempt.
This is Dexheimer’s response.
We have worked with hundreds of journalists with no issues. The ABC news cameras were intruding on the entrance of the hotel, creating an unsafe entrance/exit for our guests, which are our priority at all times. The police department asked them to move to the side several times so that our guests could enter/exit, and ABC refused. ABC was clearly told that they could stand on the sidewalk but it is illegal to block an entrance to any business, which is what they were doing. After not complying with the police requests, they were then asked to move to the other side of the street. It is our understanding that ABC continued to speak belligerently to the police and were arrested for not complying with police orders. The arrest resulted from issues between the police and ABC, not The Brown Palace Hotel.
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Fernandez, as I mentioned in a
8 responses so far ↓
1 enhager // Aug 29, 2008 at 2:39 pm
Nice, scoop! I didn’t see any impeding in the edited video, no traffic jam of guests or line waiting to get in or out. I didn’t see any hotel management talking with reporters asking them to be more courteous or to simply move to the side of the entrance. An unsafe exit? that ’s the reason for this?
2 KD // Aug 29, 2008 at 4:05 pm
That’s the hotel’s official response. Winds of Change got the exact same reply:
http://www.windsofchange.net/archives/abc_and_the_brown_palace_the_brown_palaces_side.php
3 Rizzin // Aug 29, 2008 at 5:43 pm
IF the camera crew were blocking the entrance then they too would have been placed under arrest not just the producer.
Nice try from Brown Palace Hotel, but something is still out of kilter with their side of the story.
Would have been nice to have the WHOLE incident recorded or released without the gap between the producer being shoved across the street and the cuffs being put on him on what looks like the side of the street he originated on before the cops got involved.
4 genewitch // Aug 30, 2008 at 12:35 am
it’s illegal to block an entrance to a building? from the outside? So protesting in front of a business is illegal now?
Someone needs to talk with the hotel’s lawyer, and tell them to STFU.
5 Scott // Aug 30, 2008 at 4:26 pm
It’s not as if that was the only exit to the building. They have emergency exits and such. There was no danger.
6 B // Sep 4, 2008 at 1:40 am
Funny how the hotel doesn’t provide any security-camera footage, which it most certainly has in its possession. ABC News should subpoena that tape and sue.
7 David // Sep 6, 2008 at 1:08 am
I got the same response today! I called them I got the same response. Now, CALL THE BROWN PALACE AND ASK THEM TO SEND THEIR ADDITONAL CAMERAS THEY SET UP FOR THE XTRA SECURITY TO THE DENVER DA OFFICE AND DENVER POLICE INTERNAL AFFAIRS. According to the P.R. Dept at the hotel, they had extra cameras up and stated it showed the inside entrance. She stated “that the Security Manager had the tapes and it was up to her how long she would keep them” when asked how long they will be kept. We notified the Denver DA office and the lawyer for Isa. PEOPLE, file your witness statments to the DENVER POLICE INTERNAL AFFAIRS and the BOULDER COUNTY SHERIFFS OFFICE. Go to the DENVER DA website and search for the hearing date in Denver for him (about a month away) and go to it as witnesses. BOYCOTT THE BROWN PALACE. DEMAND THEIR “SIGNED STATMENT TO POLICE” and their SECURTIY TAPES SHOWING THE BLOCKING OF the entrance,etc that they are adhering to. ASK THEM WHAT HAPPENED TO THE 3 HOUR PERIOD at 9am when they made the initial complaint to when he was arrested and booked (check the time on the DENVER DA website of current cases). THE police would have arrested him in a heart beat if he was INSIDE as stated today by the P.R. Dept at the Brown Palace. That is was just inside the entry way INSIDE the hotel and was supposidly asked to leave 5-6X. He was arrested ON THE STREET ON PUBLIC GROUND NO EVEN BLOCKING THE DOOR. HE WAS 2 ft from the gutter. The police wanted them to cross the street instead; well, they pushed him all the way across backwards, pushing him repeatedly in the chest with oncoming traffice. Those that have been there know drivers drive quite fast down that multi lane street. CALL THE HOTEL AND TELL THEM YOU WILL NEVER STAY WITH THEM. I KNOW WE WILL NEVER AGAIN.
8 David // Sep 6, 2008 at 1:15 am
Hey B, the lady (Shannon) TODAY admitted they “had extra security cameras up do the guests that were there” She said “they were in the posssion of the Security Manager” I asked her how long they would be kept and said that it would behoove the Brown Palace hotel to bring those to the attention of the Internal Affairs. She said “how long they are kept is up to the Security manager”. I asked her for that persons email and was told it was SMoretz@BrownPalace.com. They do have them! and there should be PLENTY of good common citizens that saw what happened and should sign affidavit statments with both offices.
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