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Los Angeles Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
A judge restricted LAPD's use of force. Then journalists were beaten with batons
Less than a month after a temporary restraining order restricted the use of force by L.A. police on journalists covering protests, three reporters left an immigration demonstration bruised and bloody after being struck by officers' batons. Among them was Sean Beckner-Carmitchel, an L.A. Press Club member, who experienced heavy bruising on his left ribs that doctors said indicated a probable fracture after he was repeatedly jabbed by a baton while documenting an Aug. 8 protest outside the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown L.A. 'I think that this is another in a long line of LAPD refusing to obey even the most basic elements of the 1st Amendment,' he said. 'The TRO [temporary restraining order] was designed specifically to prevent this exact situation, and I think it is extremely likely they are in contempt of a federal judge's order.' Earlier this summer, the L.A. Press Club and investigative reporting network Status Coup filed a lawsuit against the Los Angeles Police Department to protect journalists' 1st Amendment rights in light of numerous injuries suffered by members of the press during immigration protests. On July 10, a federal judge granted a TRO that blocks Los Angeles police officers from using rubber projectiles and other so-called less-lethal munitions against reporters covering protests. It also forbids officers from intentionally assaulting a journalist who is gathering information at a protest or preventing a journalist from being in protest areas that have been closed off to the public. Now the plaintiffs allege that the LAPD violated the TRO during the Aug. 8 protest when at least three journalists were injured by police batons and two reporters were detained. On Wednesday, they filed a contempt motion asking a federal judge to further restrict L.A. police use of force against journalists. 'We've asked the judge to set a hearing on the contempt motion and hopefully tell them, 'When I said you couldn't shoot them, I didn't think I also had to tell you you couldn't beat them,'' said the plaintiffs' attorney, Carol Sobel. The LAPD did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the contempt motion. In response to the initial TRO, L.A. Police Chief Jim McDonnell said in a statement 'The LAPD trains our officers to identify and respect working journalists during protests and we remain committed to protecting the rights of the press.' The contempt motion includes photos and videos of injuries suffered by Beckner-Carmitchel, photojournalist Nick Stern and Status Coup reporter Tina Berg. Stern can be seen in a video being hit by an officer's baton while displaying his press credentials, suffering a cut to his chin that then bled onto his pass. Berg was shoved by officers and suffered a deep cut to her hand — also while wearing press credentials. 'When people held up their press credentials and they slam them with batons, that violated the court's injunction, that violated the court's decision, that violated state law,' said Sobel. The motion further alleges that police violated the TRO on Aug. 8 by detaining and zip-tying reporters for one to two hours and ultimately transporting two photojournalists to LAPD detention facilities at Temple and Los Angeles streets. Journalists' request to speak to a supervisor or public information officer about their treatment was denied, the motion alleges. 'Defendants' actions evince a blatant disregard for the First Amendment and an unwillingness or an inability or both on the part of the City to take steps necessary to ensure compliance with this Court's Injunction,' states the motion. The plaintiffs are asking the judge to update the TRO to 'expressly encompass' the use of batons and any other type of force. They are also asking that the LAPD have a designated liaison from the office of operations at every protest. The Los Angeles Police Department has a long history of violating reporters' rights while they are covering protests. The initial lawsuit complaint detailed extensive lacerations, bruises and severe injuries reporters suffered from less-lethal munitions while covering immigration protests in June. Earlier this month, the city of L.A. tentatively agreed to pay $500,000 to two Knock LA journalists who claim their constitutional rights were violated when police arrested them at a 2021 protest in Echo Park. The city has previously paid out millions of dollars in settlements and jury awards related to lawsuits brought by reporters and demonstrators who were injured by law enforcement during the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests. Times staff writer Libor Jany contributed to this report.
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
LAPD can't use less-lethal weapons against journalists, federal judge orders
A federal judge issued a two-week restraining order barring the Los Angeles Police Department from using less-lethal munitions against journalists not posing a threat to law enforcement while covering protests over immigration raids in the city. The July 10 order came less than a month after the First Amendment Coalition filed a lawsuit against the department on behalf of the Los Angeles Press Club and the independent media outlet Status Coup in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. The order upholds the 'critical role that journalists serve in Los Angeles,' Adam Rose, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Press Club, said on July 11. 'It also affirms what we've been telling LAPD for years: they're not following the law,' Rose said. The order said the department cannot use less-lethal munitions or other crowd-control measures against journalists who 'are not posing a threat of imminent harm to an officer or another person.' USA TODAY reached out to the LAPD for comment. The order also said the department was enjoined, or prohibited, from: 'Prohibiting a journalist from entering or remaining in the closed areas.' 'Intentionally assaulting, interfering with or obstructing any journalist who is gathering, receiving or processing information for communication to the public – including by restricting journalists to areas from which they do not have sufficient opportunity to observe and report on protests, including the interaction between police and protesters.' 'Citing, detaining or arresting a journalist who is in a closed area for failure to disperse, curfew violation or obstruction of a law enforcement officer for gathering, receiving or processing information." A preliminary injunction hearing is scheduled for July 24. BrieAnna Frank is a First Amendment Reporting Fellow at USA TODAY. Reach her at bjfrank@ USA TODAY's coverage of First Amendment issues is funded through a collaboration between the Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners. Funders do not provide editorial input. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: LAPD can't use less-lethal weapons against journalists, judge orders
New York Times
11-07-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Judge Orders Los Angeles Police to Stop Shooting Projectiles at Journalists
A federal judge on Friday ordered the Los Angeles Police Department to stop using foam projectiles, tear gas and flash-bang devices against journalists covering protests after reporters and photographers were struck during demonstrations last month. The temporary restraining order by Judge Hernán D. Vera of U.S. District Court also prohibits police officers from blocking journalists from closed areas, obstructing them from gathering information and detaining them for violating curfews or failing to disperse. The case stems from injuries that journalists experienced while covering street demonstrations against the Trump administration's crackdown on immigration enforcement. A lawsuit filed by the Los Angeles Press Club and Status Coup, an investigative reporting site, documented 35 instances in which Los Angeles police officers had used projectiles, tear gas or other forms of force against journalists or blocked them from public areas. The press organizations are likely to succeed in arguing that the journalists' First Amendment rights were violated and that they would suffer harm in covering future protests in Los Angeles, the judge wrote in granting the temporary order, which lasts 14 days. 'Indeed, given the fundamental nature of the speech interests involved and the almost daily protests throughout Southern California drawing media coverage, the identified harm is undoubtedly imminent and concrete,' Judge Vera wrote. He set a hearing for later this month to consider whether to issue a preliminary injunction and ordered the Los Angeles Police Department to disseminate the restrictions in his order to its officers within 72 hours. Adam Rose, the press rights chair for the Los Angeles Press Club, said the ruling was important because it showed the critical role journalists play in informing the public. It also shows that the Los Angeles police have not been following state laws that are meant to protect reporters covering protests, he said. 'The press should be able to do their job without fear of being injured by police, without fear of their rights being chilled in other ways,' Mr. Rose said. The Los Angeles Police Department declined to comment, and the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The lawsuit describes a widely covered incident in which a police officer shot Lauren Tomasi, an Australian journalist, in the leg with a projectile while she was holding a microphone and facing a camera for a live television report. Other journalists clearly identified as members of the media were shoved by police officers, pushed by police horses or shot with projectiles in the knee, head, abdomen and chest, the suit said. A reporter for The New York Times was shot in the torso with a foam projectile while she covered a large demonstration in downtown Los Angeles on June 8. Her incident is one of many mentioned in the lawsuit, but The Times is not a party in the case.
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Federal judge orders LAPD to stop shooting journalists with rubber bullets at protests
A federal judge has granted a temporary restraining order that blocks Los Angeles police officers from using rubber projectiles and other so-called less-lethal munitions against reporters covering protests against the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. In a ruling made public Friday, U.S. District Judge Hernán D. Vera said a coalition of press rights organization successfully argued that a court injunction was necessary to protect journalists and others exercising their 1st Amendment rights. The Los Angeles Press Club and investigative reporting network Status Coup filed suit last month to 'force the LAPD to respect the constitutional and statutory rights of journalists engaged in reporting on these protests and inevitable protests to come.' The lawsuit challenged the 'continuing abuse' by police of members of the media covering the demonstrations. Vera's order bars the department from using less-lethal munitions and other crowd-control tools such chemical irritants and flash-bang grenades "against journalists who are not posing a threat of imminent harm to an officer or another person." Read more: LAPD investigating more than 80 officer misconduct complaints from recent protests "On some occasions, LAPD officers purportedly targeted individuals who were clearly identifiable as members of the press," Vera wrote. The judge cited a June 8 incident at a demonstration downtown where an Australian reporter named Lauren Tomasi was wrapping up a report on live TV, dozens of feet away from a line of officers. "No protesters are visible near her," Vera wrote. "Despite this, an LAPD officer appears to aim at Tomasi, hitting her leg with a rubber bullet." The judge ruled that the LAPD cannot prohibit a journalist from entering or remaining in protest areas that have been closed off to the public while "gathering, receiving, or processing information." The order also forbids intentionally "assaulting, interfering with, or obstructing any journalist who is gathering, receiving, or processing information for communication to the public." Free press advocates who brought the suit praised the judge's decision. "The press weren't accidentally hurt at the immigration protests; they were deliberately hurt," said attorney Carol Sobel. "It's astonishing to me that we are at the same point with LAPD over and over again." City lawyers could challenge the order before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell has said he's "very concerned" by instances of journalists being targeted by police munitions and vowed each incident would be investigated. He said he did not believe officers were aiming at reporters with less-lethal weapons. Read more: How the LAPD's protest response once again triggered outrage, injuries and lawsuits "It is a target-specific munition," he told reporters at a press briefing. "That's not to say that it always hits the intended target, particularly in a dynamic situation." Vera's order says that if the LAPD detains or arrests a person who identifies themselves as a journalist, that person may contact a supervisor and challenge their detention. The order also required the LAPD to report back to the court with details of officers being informed of the new rules. The judge set a preliminary injunction hearing for July 24, in which both sides will argue the merits of the case. The lawsuit accuses the LAPD of flouting state laws passed in the wake of the 2020 protests over the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis, when journalists were detained and injured by the LAPD while covering the unrest. Apart from journalists, scores of protesters allege LAPD projectiles left them with severe bruises, lacerations and serious injuries. Under the restrictions ordered by the judge Friday, police can target individuals with 40-millimeter rounds 'only when the officer reasonably believes that a suspect is violently resisting arrest or poses an immediate threat of violence or physical harm.' Officers are also barred from targeting people in the head, torso and groin areas. Times staff Writer Libor Jany contributed to this report. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Axios
16-06-2025
- Politics
- Axios
LAPD deliberately targeted journalists at protests, press group says in lawsuit
Los Angeles journalists sued the city and head of the police department Monday alleging officers deliberately targeted reporters at recent protests following federal immigration raids. The big picture: The complaint, filed in federal court, accuses law enforcement officers of responding to the demonstrations with excessive force against both the press and the public. The largely peaceful protests in Los Angeles put the city at the center of nationwide unrest around the Trump administration's aggressive deportation agenda. Driving the news: The Los Angeles Press Club and investigative reporting site Status Coup in their complaint accuse LAPD officers of violating journalists' rights under the Constitution and state law. "Being a journalist in Los Angeles is now a dangerous profession," the complaint filed in the Central District of California said. "LAPD unlawfully used force and the threat of force against Plaintiffs, their members and other journalists to intimidate them and interfere with their constitutional right to document public events as the press." Journalists covering the protests have been shot with "less-lethal munitions," charged by horses and forcibly prevented from filming, the suit said. Zoom in: The suit lists Australian journalist Lauren Tomasi, who was shot by a rubber bullet during a live broadcast, as one of its examples of LAPD misconduct. "The video of the shooting shows the LAPD officer looking directly at her and aiming specifically at her without the slightest justification," the complaint said. "She held a microphone; she was accompanied by a camera crew. None of that mattered to the LAPD officers." Tomasi told CNN she had been reporting at the protests in downtown LA for hours when she felt the presence of the LAPD and law enforcement "really ramped up." While she has a bruise from the rubber bullet, she said she thinks "it's so important that journalists are out there doing our job." What they're saying: "With today's lawsuit, the L.A. Press Club is fighting for the rights of all of its nearly 1,000 members to report the news without risking their health and safety," Adam Rose, spokesperson for the nonprofit, said.
