Sioux Falls, SD. By Devin Saxon ( 9-8-2014)

While legally filming the police presence at an alleged hostage situation late last Sunday night, a military attired police officer with an apparent foreign accent accosted citizen journalist Cody Tommeraasen and ordered him to surrender the jurisdiction of his rights over his own personal safety, clearly protected by the 2nd Amendment allowing citizens the right to provide for their own personal defense, and additionally violated his 1st Amendment right to freedom of the Press. Following the incited altercation by the heavily armed military attired officer, he demanded that if Mr. Tommeraasen did not move back, although committing no crime, for “safety” purposes he would be arrested for “obstruction.” A video of the altercation can be found at this link –> http://youtu.be/mZEghPANvQg

Several patrons at a local bar, the Watering Hole, who all asked to remain anonymous, claim to have heard a man beating a woman in a nearby backyard of an address near the intersection of Garfield Ave and Madison St in Central Sioux Falls. The bar patrons claimed that after the pair returned to the residence located at 2406 West Madison Street they heart three gunshots and police were called to the scene. When the police arrived neighboring houses were evacuated, and homeowners were put on a local bus several blocks away with aid provided by the Red Cross. Three heavily armored military vehicles were present and were labeled POLICE across the side panels; one military vehicle was labeled COMMAND CENTER, http://youtu.be/r_b7QW2SLgU.

One woman witnessed several police units wearing military uniforms grapple onto the roof of the nearby Murray Apartment Complex. Another bystander claimed that the residence being surrounded by the military attired police units may be being used as a front for a prostitution ring, but did not provide any evidence of his claims.

The suspect was apprehended after the media was forced by the police back to a staging area beyond a clear view of the residence. Although the Independent Media arrived on scene hours before them, local corporate-owned media outlets seemed more concerned that citizen journalist representing the Independent Media were present documenting the events Sunday evening over showing concern of an obvious paramilitary presence. One journalist for a corporate-owned local TV station confirmed that the Independent Media was not recognized as media by them http://youtu.be/jUm7kf8R3C4. Another man who identified himself as the son of the woman police claimed was being held hostage asked to pass beyond the media staging area; he was denied by an officer who said, “as far as I know she is ok.” Shortly before midnight while still surrounded by paramilitary forces, the suspect later identified as Gary Morris and a yet unidentified woman exited the residence with their arms raised; they were both unarmed. Gary Morris, 32, was arrested for one count of domestic simple assault. The media was again prevented from leaving the staging area to clearly view the arrest safely without being accosted by paramilitary police officers. No evidence of a weapons discharge was found and the police later admitted that it may have been “fireworks” and not gunshots as was initially reported.

Additional footage of the incident before corporate controlled outlets had arrived can be be found here, http://youtu.be/7Qx3CpuHmCE.