A press advocacy group has alleged in a lawsuit that its members were physically assaulted and blocked from entering areas they should’ve been allowed access when covering fierce pushback from protesters challenging aggressive U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement sweeps in Los Angeles.
The complaint, filed against the city of Los Angeles and LAPD chief Jim McDonnell in California federal court on Monday, comes amid escalating tensions between local police and media in which officers have allegedly harassed reporters following street demonstrations. It alleges violations of the First and 14th amendments, as well as state laws intended to limit the use of so-called “less-lethal munitions,” and seeks a court order that would bar law enforcement from further misconduct.
“The widespread use of force against journalists by LAPD officers indicates an intent to prevent public scrutiny of police conduct toward demonstrators, a refusal to abide by constitutional and statutory safeguards for journalists in these circumstances, and an institutional failure by the LAPD,” states the complaint.
In the No Kings protests, many of the episodes of confrontation between journalists and law enforcement have played out in real time on cable television or social media. Among the first was a report from Lauren Tomasi, a correspondent for 9 News Queensland who was shot in the back of her leg by a less-lethal round by an LAPD officer. At the time, she was standing in a largely empty intersection and wasn’t in the vicinity of any protestors. In the video, it appears the officer looked in Tomasi’s direction and aimed at her, according to the complaint.
Status Coup, which filed the lawsuit alongside the L.A. Press Club, alleges that Tina Berg was forcibly removed from multiple locations by law enforcement. In one instance, she was allegedly stopped from filming a protest near the downtown Civic Center and told that she was being taken away from the area for her safety even though she was over 100 feet away from the protest. When told that she was legally allowed to film, the officer responded that he “gets that.”
The complaint also points to the shootings of reporters from The New York Times, Cal Matters and Capital & Main. “In each of these cases the journalists in question were simply reporting on the protests as they had a right and duty to do,” writes Carol Sobel, a lawyer for the L.A. Press Club, in the complaint. “None of them were engaged in conduct that would have justified the use of any force against them much less the force that was used.”
In a statement last week, the National Press Club said journalists in L.A. were “not caught in the crossfire — they were targeted.”
LAPD, which didn’t respond to a request for comment, has maintained that the protest on Saturday turned violent, though the demonstration started peacefully. “It went well until police officers started being attacked,” McDonnell told a reported from local station KNBC.
Some journalists have reported that law enforcement inflamed with unnecessary violence.
“We’re on TV,” ABC News reporter Matt Gutman said to a police officer on Saturday. “And now you’re pushing me on live television. We didn’t push anyone. You know that’s true.” In the segment, he latter added, “These guys are tired. It’s also hot. It’s been a long day and a long week … I think there has been respect between the media and law enforcement here. We have kept our distance.”
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