Los Angeles has tentatively agreed to pay $500,000 to two Knock LA reporters on the eve of trial of a civil rights lawsuit accusing the Los Angeles Police Department of wrongful arrest, attorneys announced Tuesday.
The payment would resolve the suit brought by reporters Jonathan Peltz and Kathleen Gallagher, who claimed the LAPD violated their First and Fourth Amendment rights by arresting them for simply reporting about a protest and police actions at Echo Park Lake on March 25, 2021.
Without admitting wrongdoing, the city agreed Monday to settle the suit just before jury selection was set to begin in Los Angeles federal court. The payout, which still needs approval from the City Council, would cover damages and attorney fees.
The reporters and their lawyers said the settlement is a victory for all journalists who are wrongfully arrested and allegedly beaten by police, but added that the LAPD continues to lawlessly arrest and injure journalists reporting about protests in Los Angeles, most recently the protests against federal officers conducting mass arrests of immigrants suspected of being here illegally.
“Years after the events at Echo Park Lake, journalists are still routinely detained and injured by the LAPD while covering demonstrations,” Gallagher said in a statement. “This settlement should serve as a reminder that our First Amendment rights can’t be violated without consequences.”
An LAPD spokesperson declined comment. The L.A. City Attorney’s Office did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
Peltz and Gallagher claimed that the LAPD violated their First Amendment right to free speech by arresting them, zip-tying them, holding them on buses, and taking them to a large jail, all of which prevented them from reporting about the protests over the city’s eviction of a large homeless encampment on the shores of Echo Park Lake and the arrest of protesters.
According to the suit, the LAPD held Peltz and Gallagher for four hours and told them they faced criminal charges for failure to disperse. But the reporters were never prosecuted.
“Since this arrest at Echo Park Lake, the LAPD budget has increased while the city’s budget has gone into crisis,” Peltz said. “As we’ve seen over the past few months, the LAPD continues to disregard the rights of journalists and protesters and have proven themselves a liability to both our wallets and constitutional rights.”
Kate McFarlane, one of the lawyers representing Peltz and Gallagher, said the reporters “experienced firsthand the abusive tactics LAPD uses when they don’t want the press watching and reporting on their bad behavior.”
McFarlane said that although the events at Echo Park Lake took place over four years ago, “we still see it continuing today. The only way LAPD will learn they cannot and will not get away with suppressing journalists’ First Amendment rights is when people like Mr. Peltz and Ms. Gallagher are brave enough to stand up, speak out, and fight back against this militant organization.”
The city is in a major deficit and cannot afford to pay $500,000 to people that the thugs at LAPD have violated. TAKE THE MONEY OUT OF LAPD’S BUDGET and out of officer pay ONLY!