HuffPost Reporter Ryan J. Reilly Calls Ferguson Arrest A 'Dehumanizing Process'

The Huffington Post's Ryan J. Reilly was arrested Wednesday evening in Ferguson, Missouri, while covering protests surrounding the death of unarmed teenager Michael Brown. Reilly joined HuffPost Live Thursday to describe the conditions of his arrest.

Reilly explained that he was working in a nearby McDonald's along with another reporter, the Washington Post's Wesley Lowery, when SWAT entered the premises. Reilly was then ordered to exit.

"They were giving us a countdown like we were 5-year-olds," he explained.

When he didn't leave quickly enough, Reilly said, he was roughed up by an officer and subsequently arrested.

"You know you always see cops yelling, 'stop resisting, stop resisting,' and that's something that happened here -- but I wasn't resisting," Reilly said. "This is just something that these cops yelled no matter what you were doing. I let my arms go limp ... wasn't trying to resist anything."

"In a certain way I think I'm in a privileged position both as a reporter and, frankly, as a white male, that this is something that you don't really expect to happen to you," Reilly said.

"It's just such a dehumanizing process to be eliminated from all forms of communication, and thankfully I remembered some numbers in my head, so I was able to make some phone calls," Reilly continued.

Watch Reilly's interview above.