New Jersey Police Sergeant Charged With Stealing AP Photographer’s Equipment During Delaney Hall Anti-ICE Protests

(Photo by Kyle Mazza/NurPhoto via AP)

A New Jersey police sergeant has been charged with stealing an Associated Press photographer’s bag containing thousands of dollars worth of equipment during the Delaney Hall anti-ICE protests.

The sergeant with the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, Darryl Brown, was allegedly caught with the gear bag at his home after photojournalist Angelina Katsanis tracked it down using an Airtag geotracking device.

Katsanis had been covering the protests last Saturday night when she was struck in the knee during a clash between police and demonstrators. The bag containing $10,000 in equipment was stolen as she sought out treatment at a medical tent.

“I checked my Airtag and the bag was already on a highway pretty far away at that point,” Katsanis told the AP. “Right away, I had a feeling it was the police because they were the only ones with access to that area.”

The Airtag eventually pinged at a home in Sparta, New Jersey, which belonged to Brown, according to the attorney general’s office.

Brown’s body camera footage showed him “interacting” with the bag at the protest location, the attorney general’s office said. A search warrant executed at his home Wednesday turned up several of Katsanis’s missing items, some bearing her name and phone number, the AP reported.

Brown was charged with third-degree theft, and was suspended without pay, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office told AP.

“I’ve thought a lot about how the officers are supposed to be there to uphold the law and protect us and protect property — and this is the exact opposite of that,” Katsanis said.

The AP reported that Brown did not immediately return a message left on his phone requesting comment.

Protests outside the detention center have escalated in recent weeks as detainees inside reportedly launched a hunger strike to bring attention to “poor living conditions.” The Trump administration has denied that the conditions at the 1,000-bed facility are substandard.

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