The LAPD is waging war on the local media, and it should be a bigger story.
Multiple media present identical credentials, but the LAPD arrested & transported some while releasing others.
There were 182 people arrested ay the Echo park protest. A member of the media was the *last* person released. That was *not* a coincidence. It was a message.
A journalist records police behaving poorly, and then that journalist is the *only person* charged w/failing to disperse — even as there were hundreds of other people in the streets. 😒
The LAPD isn’t trying to hide their intimidation/retaliation. All of us should be outraged.
Increasing the intimidation, this is how the LAPD treated this journalist just 10 days ago.
The LAPD is sending a mob-like message to the media.
At Echo Park, the LAPD told the media to leave where the protest was, and go to a media *viewing area*.
But it was *physically impossible* to view protest from this *viewing area*. That was the point.
Here is a video that shows the distance between the *media viewing* area and the kettle. What a joke.
The media was off to the side, and not interfering. Why demand they leave? That was disturbing af. It’s the reason I stayed to film/document.
Once everyone was kettled, the LAPD targeted the legal observers & media for arrest.
How many other police forces in the U.S. target the media and legal observers for arrest?
Beyond just targeting for the arrest, the LAPD aggressively harasses/intimidates specific media members.
This officer aims at specific media members, then points at *lawyer* wearing fluorescent hat. This isn’t by mistake. The LAPD is sending a message.
The media’s purpose is to gather info so the citizenry can make informed decisions regarding politics and policy.
When the LAPD violates their policies & constitution just to hamper the media’s ability to gather & disseminate info, it’s an attack on a pillar of our democracy.
The LAPD gets away w/violating the rights of the media because the LAPD knows recourse usually requires a lawsuit (that can be drawn-out for years).
Time to start holding *individual* officers responsible for violating both LAPD media policies (not to mention the Constitution).
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