Flashing a press pass can give you a free pass with law enforcement.
So says, Vancouver-based social media star Kris Krug who on Saturday in Copenhagen found himself at the centre of a chaotic police crackdown on protesters during a march for a fair equitable pack on climate change solutions.
Police arrested 968 people during the demonstration with 13 still in custody yesterday, according to reports.
“These people were a little bit more angry about the whole thing,” Krug said of the demonstrators who surrounded him. “To them, it’s not about climate change but it’s about system change [and] and changing world governments.”
Krug is taking photos at the international summit for the TckTckTck coalition of prominent non-government organizations, including World Vision, Greenpeace and Amnesty International.
“It’s a little strange,” he said of his brush with Danish police. “I’ve never been in an environment like this. I only kept myself from being arrested by showing my media credentials.”
Despite a wave of more than 1,100 arrests over the weekend, Krug said the majority of people at the conference are working peacefully to lobby through activism and social media campaigns.
Krug plans to remain in the thick of climate summit talks until Dec. 20.