CT SPJ statement on the arrest of a Connecticut Post reporter

Bruno Matarazzo, president of the Connecticut chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, issued the following statement in response to Bridgeport police arresting Connecticut Post reporter Tara O’Neill while she covered a protest on Thursday, May 9, 2019:

“The fact that Bridgeport police found it appropriate to arrest a reporter is disturbing. Tara O’Neill was reporting on Thursday’s protest to write a news story. She was not a participant, and identified herself as a reporter when an officer handcuffed her. The fact that someone can be arrested in Bridgeport for the lawful exercise of a First Amendment right is chilling.”