Police are investigating Motor City Muckraker founder Steve Neavling for allegedly assaulting a videographer at a Detroit fire they were covering late last year.
George Hunter reports in The Detroit News that the Dec. 5 incident started in the 2900 block of Garland, when Neavling, a former Detroit Free Press reporter (2006-12) who operates the two-year-old investigative blog, and Blake Arnold, a videographer, were separately observing a fire that started near the historic home of Dr. Ossian Sweet.
Arnold videotaped some of what happened that night, though Neavling described the footage as "creative editing" that does not tell the entire story. Click here to see the video, which is posted on Motor City Muckraker Muckraker, a Facebook page that is critical of Neavling and his work.
Hunter writes:
Arnold’s camera was rolling as he approached Neavling and said, “You did a hit job on the Grosse Pointe Park Police” — a reference to a story Neavling broke in November about officers who filmed a homeless man as they seemed to taunt him.
After Arnold questioned the blogger about his story, Neavling is seen in the video taking a few steps before turning and saying, “Get the (expletive) away from me.” Neavling then takes a swing at the camera, and the picture wobbles. Neavling again warns Arnold to get out of his “personal space” before swinging again.
Neavling tells Hunter Arnold had harassed him online for months and questioned the video.
“The part you see is probably five to 10 minutes after he first ambushed me,” Neavling tells The News. “It looks like I’m attacking him . . . but that’s creative editing. I was hitting the video camera out of his hand."
In an email, Neavling adds:
He walked up to me, and as I stuck my hand out to shake his hand, he called me a n@@@er lover, pushed my shoulder and pulled out his camera. He followed me and refused to get out of my personal space for 5-10 minutes. I told him numerous times that I felt threatened and he ignored me. It was pitch dark, and there was a fire burning in three homes. The video that you see is the last minute of his confrontation with me. He was not going to stop pursuing me.
