Additional Coverage:
- New Jersey police sergeant charged with stealing journalist’s camera bag at immigration protest (nbcnews.com)
New Jersey Police Sergeant Charged with Stealing Photojournalist’s Equipment During Newark Immigration Jail Protests
NEWARK, N.J. – A police sergeant from the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office has been formally charged with theft after allegedly stealing $10,000 worth of cameras and gear from a photojournalist covering protests outside the Delaney Hall immigration detention center.
Darryl Brown, the sergeant in question, was identified after the journalist, Angelina Katsanis of The Associated Press, used a geo-tracking device to locate her missing equipment at his residence, according to New Jersey’s attorney general.
Katsanis was on assignment last Saturday night when she was injured by a wooden beam striking her knee during a confrontation between police and demonstrators outside the detention center. While seeking medical attention, she left her equipment bag-clearly labeled with her name and contact details-behind. Upon returning to the scene in a wheelchair, she found the bag missing.
“Checking my Airtag, I realized the bag was already moving along a highway, quite far away,” Katsanis said. “I immediately suspected the police, as they were the only ones with access to that area.”
While receiving treatment at a nearby hospital, the tracking device pinged at a Sparta, New Jersey address registered to Sergeant Brown. The device was eventually found discarded miles from Brown’s home.
Further investigation, including a review of Brown’s body camera footage, revealed him handling the equipment bag during the protests. A search of his home uncovered several stolen items bearing Katsanis’ identification.
Brown faces third-degree theft charges and has been suspended without pay. Efforts to reach his attorney and Brown himself were unsuccessful.
Katsanis, experienced in hostile environment reporting, described the ordeal as deeply unsettling. “Officers are supposed to uphold the law and protect people and property,” she remarked. “This behavior is the exact opposite.”
The Delaney Hall detention center has recently been a focal point for protests against immigration enforcement policies, with tensions escalating amid hunger strikes by detainees alleging poor conditions-a claim denied by federal officials who accuse protesters of stirring unrest.
Katsanis reported swelling and bruising but no broken bones from the injury sustained during the protest.