The Los Angeles Press Club and investigative reporting network Status Coup on Monday sued the Los Angeles Police Department and its chief, alleging in federal court that reporters\u2019 rights were violated by police while covering recent immigration raids and subsequent civil unrest.
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\n\u201cBeing a journalist in Los Angeles is now a dangerous profession,\u201d according to the suit.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis case responds to the continuing abuse, including the use of excessive force, by Los Angeles Police Department officers during recent protests\u2026 These journalists were not engaged in protest or unlawful activity and were exercising their First Amendment rights and safeguarding the First Amendment rights of all members of the community.\u201d
\nPlaintiffs contend that the LAPD \u201chas a long and entrenched history of using force to obstruct freedom of the press\u201d and the recent protests \u201ccontinues this long and disgraceful history of unconstitutional actions against journalists.\u201d<\/p>\n
An LAPD representative said the department does not comment on pending litigation.<\/p>\n
The suit was filed on behalf of the Los Angeles Press Club, which has more than 1,000 member journalists and news organizations in Southern California.
\nStatus Coup is an independent investigative reporting network and media outlet that focuses on in-field and investigative work.<\/p>\n
Status Coup reporters were allegedly subjected to excessive force, including being struck by various \u201cless-lethal\u201d projectiles as they attempted to record the LAPD officers\u2019 response to the protests.
\nIn addition, the group\u2019s reporters were barred by the LAPD from areas of the protests where, by law, they should have been permitted access, the lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles federal court, alleges.
\nJournalists covering protests have also been charged by horses and forcibly prevented from filming, the First Amendment Coalition said in a Monday statement.<\/p>\n
The suit seeks a preliminary and permanent injunction against the LAPD, a judge\u2019s finding that the defendants\u2019 alleged conduct violated federal and state constitutional and statutory laws, and other relief the court deems proper.<\/p>\n
The lawsuit filed by the Los Angeles Press Club and Status Coup against the LAPD highlights the challenges faced by journalists in covering protests and immigration raids. The allegations of excessive force and obstruction of freedom of the press are serious and warrant a thorough investigation. The outcome of this case will have significant implications for the rights of journalists and the public’s access to information.<\/p>\n
A: The Los Angeles Press Club and investigative reporting network Status Coup filed the lawsuit.<\/p>\n
A: The allegations include excessive force, obstruction of freedom of the press, and violation of federal and state constitutional and statutory laws.<\/p>\n
A: The suit seeks a preliminary and permanent injunction against the LAPD, a judge\u2019s finding that the defendants\u2019 alleged conduct violated federal and state constitutional and statutory laws, and other relief the court deems proper.<\/p>\n
A: The outcome of this case will have significant implications for the rights of journalists and the public’s access to information, particularly in the context of covering protests and immigration raids.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Journalists Allege Unlawful Use of Force by LAPD Introduction to the Lawsuit The Los Angeles Press Club and investigative reporting network Status Coup on Monday sued the Los Angeles Police Department and its chief, alleging in federal court that reporters\u2019 rights were violated by police while covering recent immigration raids and subsequent civil unrest. \u201cBeing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":16955,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-16954","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-crime-reports"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.dailynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/LDN-L-GENERIC-LAPD-CAR-1101-2-1.jpg?w=1400px&strip=all&w=1400&resize=1400,932&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16954"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16954"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16954\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16956,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16954\/revisions\/16956"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16955"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}