How a reporter’s arrest led to a $700k settlement, new training for L.A. deputies in

A KPCC/LAist reporter will receive a $700,000 settlement after she was thrown to the ground, handcuffed and arrested by L.A. Sheriff’s Department (LASD) deputies while covering a protest in 2020.

The L.A. County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on Tuesday to approve the settlement, which outlines new training requirements reminding deputies of proper ways to treat members of the press during protests.

“This settlement upholds the rights of journalists and helps ensure that what happened to me won’t happen to other reporters,” Huang said in a statement released Tuesday afternoon. “My arrest was traumatic, but I hope that some good can still come of this experience.”

Huang was recording video on her phone when the arrest occurred. During the altercation, her phone fell to the ground, but continued recording. She can be heard in the background of the video.

She was recording sheriff’s deputies with her phone at a protest in Lynwood when she approached a group of officers moving a man into the back of a police cruiser. As she approached, an officer told her to “back up.”

Moments later, she was thrown to the ground. Huang could be heard screaming in pain, shouting for help and calling out “I’m a reporter” and “I’m with KPCC” multiple times as she was handcuffed and put into a sheriff’s vehicle. The incident left her with scrapes and bruises to her knees, ankle and face.

The day after the arrest, Huang said in a social media post that the experience was “like being tossed around in the ocean and then slammed into rock.”

Freelance reporters also captured video of Huang’s arrest. She can be seen struggling on the ground and screaming while several deputies gathered around and handcuffed her.

The settlement explains that the LASD deputies detained her “without legal justification and using unjustified force” while she was reporting news in a public place.

As part of the settlement, informational briefs will also be issued to sheriff’s department personnel. The documents explain that the public — and members of the press — have a right to record video and audio in any public place. It also describes that it is unlawful to arrest someone because they are recording.

The briefs also explain that officers aren’t allowed to search or seize video and audio recordings without consent or a court order.

Sheriff’s department personnel must go through required training on the information in the briefs before they head out on patrol services — at places like protests — where they will likely come in contact with members of the press.

The trainings also include information on Senate Bill 98 — which California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a year after Huang’s arrest. The bill protects reporters when covering protests and demonstrations and creates exemptions for journalists from being cited for failure to disperse.

Huang was represented by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, a D.C.-based organization that provides pro bono legal representation and other legal resources to protect journalists’ rights.

“This settlement sends a strong message and, importantly, holds officials accountable for what happened to our client,” Katie Townsend, deputy executive director and legal director for the organization, said in a statement. “We’re glad to have reached a resolution with LA County that will not only provide our client redress, but also will help prevent future unlawful arrests of journalists.”

Huang was originally accused of resisting arrest and interrupting the arrest of a protestor.

But a separate court filing called for Huang to be found “factually innocent” — which would mean she did not commit any crime she was accused of. A judge found Huang factually innocent earlier this year.

“Thanks to my lawyers who worked years to arrive at this settlement,” Huang wrote in a social media post Wednesday. “I hope it helps deter future assaults on journalists and can be used as a benchmark in other 1A cases. You’re free to film law enforcement without fear of injury or your device getting broken. It is our right.”

Julie Patel Liss, president of the L.A. chapter of the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA), said it’s positive to finally see some form of accountability for how Huang was treated.

“When AAJA L.A. saw the video of Josie being swung around and pushed to the ground on that night of Sept. 12, 2020, we recognized that as something that affects our whole profession and her as a member,” she said. “The settlement sends a message that if you’re doing something that is harming the public then there are going to be consequences.”

But she was also surprised to see the sheriff’s department didn’t offer any admission of guilt or wrongdoing.

“It would have been very powerful for the current leaders at LASD and law enforcement to make a statement that we all make mistakes and we all do things we regret,” Patel Liss said.

This settlement is just one in a string of media rights debates nationwide. Journalists across the country are also reaching settlements after wrongful arrests during protests from several years ago, particularly in 2020 when millions took to the streets to protest the killing of George Floyd.

Last year, a federal judge approved a $825,000 settlement prohibiting Minnesota authorities from arresting or using force against journalists after a freelance video journalist was struck and pepper sprayed while covering protests following the killing of George Floyd.

In March, the city of Atlanta agreed to pay $105,000 in a settlement after a photojournalist was arrested while covering a protest in 2020.

In April, officials in Washington, D.C. agreed to pay $175,000 to settle a lawsuit from two journalists who said they were unlawfully detained while covering protests during former President Donald Trump’s inauguration in 2017.

And in August, St. Louis officials reached a $180,000 settlement with a reporter who was covering a protest in 2017. He was caught in a mass arrest of over 80 people, who also received approximately $58,000 per person in settlements.

The city paid nearly $5 million in total after arresting protesters, videographers and bystanders in a technique known as “kettling” — where police close in on a large crowd from multiple sides, not allowing them to leave.

Huang encouraged reporters to keep recording when they find themselves in a protest situation in order to create evidence.

“If others and I hadn’t documented my arrest, it’d be my word against the highest-ranking law enforcement official in L.A. County,” Huang wrote in a social media post Wednesday. “So many others have been in a similar situation but didn’t have the evidence. Without it, I’d be in a very different place right now.”