A federal judge in Los Angeles has issued a temporary restraining order restricting Los Angeles Police Department officers from using less-lethal munitions on journalists covering immigration protests, according to court documents.
The order, signed by Judge Hernan Vera on Thursday, July 10, also prevents LAPD officers from detaining or restricting the movements of journalists.
The order was to remain in effect for at least 14 days while the court considers whether to grant a longer block.
In his ruling, Vera cited 35 instances in which LAPD either fired less-lethal munitions or tear gas, or excluded journalists from public areas.
“When journalists persisted in documenting the protests, it appears from the evidence presented that they faced an onslaught of projectiles and other shows of physical force,” Vera wrote. “On some occasions, LAPD officers purportedly targeted individuals who were clearly identifiable as members of the press.”
The filing comes about a month after the Los Angeles Press Club and Status Coup, which Vera identified as a “progressive independent investigative reporting network and media outlet” with over 3,000 members, filed a lawsuit against LAPD and Chief Jim McDonnell alleging that the rights of journalists were violated by police while covering recent immigration raids and subsequent civil unrest.
The Los Angeles Press Club has more than 1,000 member journalists and news organizations in Southern California.
Vera, in court documents filed Thursday, highlighted several independent incidents where journalists were hit with less-lethal munitions, some from close range, or were shoved by officers, or bumped by officers on horseback.
The defendants argued that the incidents in June “are old news” and that there is no upcoming emergency to justify the order, the judge wrote.
But Vera disagreed.
“Plaintiffs have shown a likelihood of success on their First Amendment claims and have established to the Court’s satisfaction that they are likely to suffer irreparable harm covering continuing protests in Los Angeles,” Vera wrote in his ruling.
In a statement, the LAPD said the department does not comment on pending litigation.
The judge is tentatively set to consider a longer restraining order on July 24.
Separately, an LAPD spokeswoman on Friday confirmed that the department’s Professional Standards Bureau was investigating 59 use-of-force complaints against officers related to the anti-immigration enforcement protests. The department did not immediately confirm other complaints related to the protests.
Whether the use-of-force complaints included incidents involving journalists was not immediately known.