DENVER -- ABC News said one of its producers covering the Democratic convention was pushed into traffic by a sheriff's deputy Wednesday, and then arrested.

Asa Eslocker was arrested outside Denver's Brown Palace Hotel on charges of trespassing, interference, and failure to obey a lawful order. ABC said Eslocker and a film crew were trying to photograph senators and donors for a story on the Democratic National Convention when a sheriff's deputy told him the sidewalk is owned by the hotel and pushed him into traffic.

One of the officers arresting Eslocker -- a police sergeant -- had a cigar in his mouth while he was handcuffing the reporter. ABC News posted video of the confrontation and arrest on its Web site. The video shows the Boulder County deputy yelling, "Move! Let's go! Move it!" as Eslocker backs up and says, "Hold on. Don't push me man."

The video then cuts to a part where Eslocker is then grabbed by the neck and then arrested by several officers.

ABC reported that during the arrest, one of the officers can be heard saying to Eslocker, "You're lucky I didn't knock the (expletive) out of you."

The Joint Information Center, a multi-agency operation that handles media inquiries during the convention, said officers had repeatedly told Eslocker not to block the sidewalk and a hotel entrance. Police say he wasn't arrested until three hours after the first warning.

ABC said Eslocker was working with reporter Brian Ross on the role of corporate lobbyists and wealthy donors at the convention.

"We expect to see that kind of thing in Myanmar, not on the streets of Denver," ABC spokesman Jeffrey Schneider said in a written statement.

Denver police Lt. Ron Saunier said he had no information on the claim that Eslocker was pushed into traffic. And he urged the network to show the video to law enforcement.

Eslocker is the first journalist reported to have been arrested during the convention. More than 100 other people have been arrested during marches and protests since Monday.

Reporters Without Borders, a journalism advocacy group based in Washington, raised concerns Wednesday about whether police were interfering with press coverage of anti-war protests at the convention.

The group cited a video posted by USA Today in which a videographer taping protesters and police is knocked to the ground by an officer trying to clear a street.

Denver Police Chief Gerald Whitman reminded officers in writing Tuesday that Colorado law gives journalists some privileges when they're covering riots.

Whitman said reporters and photographers don't have to obey any order to disperse in riot conditions, though they are supposed to move to the edge of the crowd. The police also mentioned how difficult it was to distinguish working journalists from others in the crowd since so many people know have digital cameras and camcorders.