Reporter handcuffed for taking photos in courthouse hallway

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – New York state court system officials say they’re looking into why officers handcuffed a newspaper reporter who took photos of a man being arrested inside a courthouse.

The Post-Standard of Syracuse (http://bit.ly/2stqvnu ) says its reporter, Douglass Dowty, took cellphone photos Wednesday of a man being subdued by Onondaga County Courthouse officers after a fight in a hallway.

The newspaper says an officer then handcuffed Dowty and took away his phone. Dowty was detained for a few minutes before he was released and his phone returned.

The Office of Court Administration says the episode is being investigated.

New York State Associated Press Association president Steve McMurray of WKTV in Utica says no journalist should be detained for “simply for taking pictures or documenting events in a public area.”