US journalist told to 'act like a lady' by police

LOS ANGELES - Police in Colorado have come under fire after an officer told a journalist "to act like a lady" while she was being handcuffed for taking photographs.

A bodycam video of the July 5 incident released this week by the Denver Police Department shows the exchange between Susan Greene, editor of the Colorado Independent, and two police officers.

Greene was taking pictures with her phone of a naked African-American man being detained by police on a city sidewalk when she was ordered to stop doing so on the grounds it violated privacy laws.

"There's also the First Amendment. Have you heard of it?" she is heard responding in the video, leading one of the officers to grab her by the arm and to handcuff her while telling her to "stand up and act like a lady".

"Are you (expletive) kidding me," Greene responded.

The Denver Police Department said an internal investigation was ongoing, adding that it had organised a training session for officers on First Amendment issues relating to freedom of speech and freedom of the press.