Federal Court Tells Minnesota State Police To Stop Attacking, Harassing, And Arresting Journalists Covering Protests

from the really-shouldn't-have-to-be-told-this dept

Minneapolis, Minnesota was still on edge when a cop shot another unarmed black man. The trial of former officer Derek Chauvin is still underway. Last May, Chauvin knelt on the neck of George Floyd for over nine minutes -- including two minutes after another officer was unable to detect a pulse.

With this hovering in the air, another senseless killing by an officer set everything off. Again. 26-year-veteran officer Kim Potter (who served a year as the head of the police union) turned a "routine traffic stop" into a homicide when Daunte Wright broke free from another officer and jumped back into his car. Potter yelled "Taser! Taser! Taser!" while pointing her gun at Wright. She shot him once, which was enough to kill him. Potter's service weapon was holstered on her right side. The Taser she supposedly thought she had in her hand was holstered on her left. The Taser was bright yellow. The gun she shot Wright with was not.

Officer Potter resigned but it didn't change anything. She has been arrested and charged with second-degree manslaughter. Potter's error -- which seems completely inexplicable given the location, distance, color, and weight of the weapons she confused -- turned Brooklyn Center, Minnesota into ground zero for more protests and riots. And the Chauvin trial continues, promising more of the same if the end result is unsatisfactory.

More of the same is also being observed by protesters and the journalists covering them. Protests around the country following the George Floyd killing were greeted by police violence. Journalists and legal observers were often targeted with the same crowd control efforts deployed against protesters and rioters. In far too many cases, officers (especially federal officers sent in to "help") appeared to specifically target journalists for abuse, including harassment and close-range deployments of pepper spray, tear gas, and other crowd control efforts.

This targeted harassment of well protected First Amendment activity has resulted in lawsuits. So far, the government has always come out on the losing end. The same goes for Minnesota, where a judge has just approved a restraining order forbidding officers from targeting or arresting journalists. Here's Tony Webster's coverage of the mid-protest litigation:

A Minnesota federal judge has issued a temporary restraining order barring Minnesota state law enforcement from using force against journalists or ordering them to disperse while covering protests. The ruling does not apply to local law enforcement or the National Guard, however.

[...]

In a 22-page order, Judge Wilhelmina M. Wright cited examples of police treatment of the press over the past week, including police orders specifically directed to members of the press to vacate protest areas, and incidents of journalists being pepper sprayed, physically grabbed, or hit by projectiles.

There are limitations and it doesn't affect every agency policing protests. But the allegations aren't theoretical. There's plenty of evidence cops are going after journalists specifically. A letter [PDF] sent to Governor Tim Walz and the heads of three state law enforcement agencies on behalf of multiple press outlets contains disturbing documentation of officers targeting journalists.

The letter follows the restraining order put in place by a federal judge -- one that appears to have been immediately violated by officers, including those specifically told by their agency (the Minnesota State Police) to leave journalists alone.

[A]s discussed on our call, reports from journalists on the ground indicate that over the last several days—and even last night after the TRO was in effect—law enforcement officers have engaged in widespread intimidation, violence, and other misconduct directed at journalists that have interfered with their ability to report on matters of intense public interest and concern.

The letter contains a long list of violations committed by law enforcement officers who knew they were dealing with journalists.

Two separate photojournalists on assignment for The New York Times were harassed by officers. In one instance, a Minneapolis State Patrol Captain recognized the photojournalist, rushed out of a police line, and grabbed him. The officer then pulled the journalist behind the police line where another officer held his hands behind his back and took his phone. When the journalist asked “why,” the officer said: “Because that’s our strategy right now.”

[...]

Carolyn Sung, an Asian-American CNN producer, was thrown to the ground and arrested by state troopers Tuesday night while trying to comply with a dispersal order. As Sung tried to leave the area as directed, troopers grabbed Sung by her backpack and threw her to the ground, zip-tying her hands behind her back. Sung did not resist and repeatedly identified herself as a journalist working for CNN and showed her credentials.

[...]

On April 13, while in a car with others, police officers surrounded the car, banging on the windows and doors with wooden sticks and yelling to get out. The driver of the car was dragged out and arrested; another photographer in the car was taken out and talked to. The New York Times journalist was repeatedly hit by officers while in the car, and the officers also tried to break his camera.

On the night the restraining order went into effect, journalists were kettled by Hennepin County deputies. After they were released, they ran into another set of officers one block north of where they were first detained. These officers ordered them to "line up for processing," which took the form of each journalist being ordered to produce ID, lower their face masks, and be photographed by the officers.

Then there were incidents like these, where press members, clearly marked as "press" in fluorescent "press" vests, were pepper-sprayed by an officer standing just a few feet away from them.

The Minnesota State Police issued its own orders following the approval of the restraining order. It admits its policy used to be to temporarily detain and photograph journalists. That's no longer the case. Officers may still ask to see credentials but they're barred from taking pictures of press members or their press passes. The rest of the MSP's orders follow the specifications of the restraining order, which says officers will no longer be able to arrest journalists for not complying with dispersal commands while noting this is the "primary change" affecting how MSP officers "interact with the press."

But there have been no similar pledges to respect journalists and their rights from other law enforcement agencies. Perhaps they're all waiting to be told specifically by federal judges to stop violating rights, even though it's clear similar actions by government agencies not named in the suit would be just as much of a violation.

This remains unsettled and journalists will continue to be targeted and attacked by law enforcement officers. And if it's this bad now, it's only going to get worse once the Derek Chauvin verdict is delivered. Journalists can provide crucial documentation of police activity during these protests. And it seems clear many officers would prefer this didn't happen.

Filed Under: 1st amendment, arrests, derek chauvin, free speech, george floyd, journalists, minneaplolis, police, protests