Former New York Post photographer Rick Dembow received a $45,000 settlement from the City of New York for agreeing to drop his lawsuit against the New York Police Department.
Dembow was arrested in June 2004 at the scene of a hit and run accident when he saw an officer arresting fellow photographer Peter Foley. According to a press release from the National Press Photographers Association last month:
Shortly afterwards Rick Dembow sustained an asthma attack in the back seat of a police car where the windows had been rolled up despite the outside heat, as well as injuries to his wrist from overly tightened handcuffs behind his back. The news photographer was taken to a 19th precinct holding cell and then by ambulance to a local hospital for treatment of an asthma attack, where he was left handuffed to a hospital bed.
The story of the settlement was broken by Your Free Press, a New York news blog operated by Rafael Martínez Alequín, one of three news bloggers who recently won their own battle against the NYPD.
The article states that Dembrow agreed to the settlement just before his case went to trial on January 12th. He also won an additional $20,000 in lost wages from the Post.
Additionally, New York State Workers Compensation Judge Nance Kaplan ruled that the York Post must pay the photographer $20,000 in lost wages due to the assignment injury. The Post initially protested the compensation claiming the photojournalist was a freelancer and not entitled to any benefits. News Corp. sent Photo Editor David Boyle to testify against any compensation, but Judge Kaplan found Boyle’s argument to be not credible and unsupportive.
Dembow apparently has retired and moved to Sedona, Arizona, according to a comment made on a large format photography forum made on January 18th.
Greetings to all on the forum!
I have recently retired from a 35mm. news career and am looking
to learn about large format photography…so I can begin to photograph
the spectacular landscapes where I live in Sedona. I would like to
start one on one instruction with a seasoned working landscape photographer
in my town. I have no large format equipment at this time, but would
be purchasing my own as I become more knowledgeable.
Someone with drum scan experience and familiarity with local high res labs
is a big plus.
Can anyone help?
Earlier this month, photographer Duane Kerzic won a five-figure settlement from Amtrak after the story of his arrest for photographing trains was aired on The Colbert Report, according to the New York Press Photographers Association.
