Reporters covering Tsarnaev manhunt get guns drawn on them, treated like suspects by police

As the total lockdown in Boston is lifted and the manhunt for the remaining Tsarnaev brother continues, reporters attempting to cover the situation are being treated by police like suspects. In some cases officers are even drawing their weapons on the reporters.

James Ford, a reporter with local New York television station WPIX, got himself into hot water when filming police.

“I’ve been removed from crime scenes but never by officers with their guns drawn on me,” Ford said.

One officer told him to get back and asked, “Is it worth your life?”

“I’m tethered to this cable,” Ford said, according to the Huffington Post. “What’s more important, saving the cable or saving your life?” the officer asked.

After a few tense minutes, viewers witnessed the officers walking away with their guns at their sides.

In another incident, Kerry Sanders of NBC told “Today” that one officer pointed his gun at him when he was just talking to a woman near the scene of the shootout in Watertown.

Kerry Sanders is being filmed talking on his cell phone and crouched down. Cops told him to get on the ground. twitter.com/HuffPostMedia/…

— HuffPost Media (@HuffPostMedia) April 19, 2013

Similarly, Megan Chuchmach, an ABC producer, said that she was swarmed and forced to the ground by officers with their guns drawn.

“I was walking with my camera trying to get a better sense of where the SWAT teams were all congregating when all of a sudden, three officers swarmed with their guns drawn, forced me to the ground, and told me that they were suspicious of my backpack and thought I might be the suspect,” Chuchmach said.

Others like Adam Gabbatt of the Guardian reported that police were yelling at journalists to stay back. Some of the officers had weapons drawn, Gabbatt said.

Time reporter Zeke Miller said that a CNN correspondent was told to move by a cop saying, “You’re in the line of fire, you’re in the line of fire.”

The Boston Police also tweeted earlier, “WARNING: Do Not Compromise Officer Safety by Broadcasting Tactical Positions of Homes Being Searched.”

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