Los Angeles NPR station KPCC reporter Josie Huang was forced to the ground and arrested Saturday night while covering the ambush
shooting of two Sheriff deputies.The incident occurred outside the St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood,
California, where two deputies had been transported for gunshot wounds to the head while sitting in their patrol car. The suspect is still at large.Huang had just covered a Sheriff’s Department press briefing when a small group of
protesters gathered at the ambulance entrance of the hospital.Also Read:
Trevor Noah Wants to Know Why Cops Shot Jacob Blake 7 Times but Peacefully Arrested Kyle Rittenhouse (Video)“To the protesters blocking the entrance & exit of the HOSPITAL EMERGENCY ROOM yelling ‘We hope they die’ referring to 2 LA Sheriff’s ambushed today in Compton: DO NOT BLOCK EMERGENCY ENTRIES & EXITS TO THE HOSPITAL. People’s lives are at stake when ambulances can’t get through,” LA Country Sheriffs tweeted.During the arrest of a male protester who “refused to comply & cooperate arrest…a struggle ensued at which time a female adult ran towards the deputies, ignored repeated commands to stay back as they struggled with the male and interfered with the arrest,” the Sheriff’s Department said.Video of the skirmish shows five deputies pinning Huang to the ground, handcuffing her and moving her to the patrol car.ABC7 showing video of radio reporter being taken down to the pavement by officers, handcuffed and led to a patrol car outside of hospital where two LA County deputies shot in ambush are being treated @LASDHQ crime SoCal pic.twitter.com/rTg1UdeDKA\- Scott Schwebke (@TheChalkOutline) September 13, 2020Also Read: Journalists Targeted at
protests by
police, Hit With Rubber Bullet and Tear GasDeputy Juanita Navarro of the Sheriff’s Information Bureau confirmed that Huang was taken into custody on suspicion of obstruction of justice by “interfering with a lawful arrest.” Huang countered, saying she was just reporting on the arrest of a protester. Although Navarro said Huang didn’t have proper press credentials at the time of her arrest, they can clearly be seen hanging from her neck in the video.“These are challenging and stressful times for everyone, but Josie Huang was arrested while doing her job. The charges should be dropped,” KPCC said in a statement. “Her arrest is the latest in a series of troubling interactions between our reporters and some local law enforcement officers. Journalists provide an essential service, providing fair, accurate and timely journalism and without them, our democracy is at risk.”Huang — who sustained scrapes, bruises and a blackened eye during the scuffle — was released without bail from the women’s jail at the Century Regional Detention Center at about 4 a.m.Los Angeles Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas has since asked the Inspector General to investigate the Sheriff’s arrest of Huang.Also Read: Latino LA Times Journalists Tell Leadership the Paper 'Continues to Fail' Its Latino Audience“We must continue [to] pray for the two ambushed sheriff deputies and their families. We must also require that the Inspector General launch an immediate investigation into the arrest of @josie_huang. The Citizens Oversight Commission must convene a special meeting on this matter,” Ridley-Thomas said in a Sunday tweet.“While specific details remain under investigation, the Sheriff’s arrest of a journalist as she was attempting to do her
Job merits the attention of the entire
Los Angeles journalism community,” the Society of Professional Journalists/Los Angeles said in a statement. “SPJ/LA takes special note that this is at least the second time that a journalist of color from this news organization was mistreated and injured while reporting on civil protests.“This action by the Sheriff’s Department demands attention both for what appears to be an excessive use of force, and as a serious threat to the First Amendment, which protects the press, free speech, and the right to protest.”Read original story KPCC Reporter Josie Huang Forced to Ground, Arrested While Covering Protester Arrest (Video) At TheWrap