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Transcript/Script PF LA Reporter Settlement
HEADLINE: Record Settlement in US Reporter Arrest Case
TEASER:
PUBLISHED AT: 11/29/2023 at 2:45PM
BYLINE: Robin Guess
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Los Angeles
VIDEOGRAPHER: Roy Kim
VIDEO EDITOR:
SCRIPT EDITORS: JJ, MAS
VIDEO SOURCE (S): Original VOA, Reporters Committee for Freedom
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO _X_
TRT: 3:15
VID APPROVED BY: Jepsen
TYPE: TVPKG
EDITOR NOTES: ))
((INTRO))
[[Media law experts say a $700,000 settlement reached this month in the case of a Los Angeles journalist arrested by sheriff’s deputies is a record agreement. That’s because it requires law enforcement to brief deputies on journalists’ rights. VOA’s Robin Guess has more.]]
((Nats, Josie screaming (runs :25 seconds)))
((NARRATOR))
((Mandatory credit: OnScene.TV)) [Do not obscure OnScene.TV credit burned into the video. IN ADDITION, VOA must add this mandatory credit.]
((Mandatory YouTube logo))
Pulled to the ground and handcuffed by Los Angeles sheriff’s deputies, reporter Josie Huang is heard calling out that she is press.
Three years after that September 2020 arrest, the LA County Sheriff’s Department and the LA Board of Supervisors agreed to pay Huang a $700,000 settlement.
In the same year as Huang’s case, the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documents close to 100 arrests and 632 assaults on reporters. Most in the wake of widespread protests over the in-custody death of George Floyd.
It is a record settlement following dozens of cases of law enforcement and press clashes.
((FOR RADIO: This is LAist reporter Josie Huang.))
((Josie Huang, LAist Reporter, Female, English))
“The settlement in and of itself -- $700,000 -- represents a reform that I hope will deter future assaults and arrests of other reporters because I don’t think taxpayers want law enforcement to be abusing journalists.”
((Mandatory Credit: RCPF/Dunn, Gibson and Crutcher))
((NARRATOR))
Huang’s own footage captures the moment of her arrest. As deputies handcuff her, Huang -- then working for local station KPCC -- clearly and repeatedly identifies herself and her news station.
Still, deputies charged her with obstruction.
((Nats, “I am a reporter.”))
It took three years for the nonprofit the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and co-counsels at Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher to obtain the settlement and have a court wipe the charge from her record.
((For Radio: Attorney Michael Dore is co-counsel for Huang))
((Michael Dore, Huang’s Attorney, Male, English))
“It isn’t just the sort of physical violence done to her. It was the violence to her name and to her profession that the entire department did during and after the event that was so scary.”
((NARRATOR))
What stands out in Huang’s settlement are the requirements for deputies. The settlement calls for briefings on how to deal with journalists during certain patrols including protests and for supervisors to provide deputies and staff with written guidance on laws and policies around media interaction.
Current L.A. Sheriff Robert Luna declined our request for an interview.
His department told VOA a thorough internal investigation and the appropriate administrative action was taken.
And in an email, the department says its policies on media during civil unrest are distributed to staff, but the settlement does not require a change in policy.
((NARRATOR))
Huang still works for NPR member station the LAist and still covers protests.
((For Radio: Again, Josie Huang.))
((Josie Huang, LAist Reporter, Female, English))((VOA SOT 12:58))
“Reporters have to be the eyes and ears of the public and be able to cover law enforcement and cover law enforcement activities, so the public knows how their police forces are doing.”
((NARRATOR))
She says she will never forget the assignment that led to her arrest, but also says the settlement helps advance the First Amendment.
((Robin Guess, VOA News, Los Angeles, California))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)
Los Angeles, California
Embargo DateNovember 29, 2023 16:43 EST
Byline
Robin Guess, VOA News
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
