A photographer for the Detroit Free Press was arrested after filming police apprehend a suspect on public property last week.

The arrest comes just four months after the Obama administration filed a brief affirming the constitutional rights of journalists to photograph police in public places. Prohibiting them from doing so would violate the First, Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments, the Justice Department said.

That didn’t stop police from grabbing Mandi Wright’s work-issued iPhone while she was recording the apprehension of a man near downtown. She was on public property and identified herself as a journalist.

“I don’t care who you are,” the officer responded, reaching for the phone, the video shows.

Wright could be heard saying, “Are you touching me? I’m sorry – “

Then the video ends.

According to the Free Press account of the incident, the cop snatched Wright’s phone and arrested her. Wright said police placed her alone with the suspect whom she had been photographing.

The Detroit Police Department, which annually costs taxpayers millions of dollars in lawsuit settlements, confirmed an internal investigation was underway. Similar incidents have been brushed off and even ignored under previous administrations.

This case should provide an early glimpse into how new Police Chief James Craig will handle complaints against his officers.

The importance of the outcome spreads beyond the media. Anyone with a cell phone camera has the right to record police actions on public property.

Cell phone videos have helped expose police abuse in Detroit.