CNN journalist Jason Carroll, who has been reporting on the Los Angeles riots in recent days, was detained, briefly questioned, and then led away from the area.
During a live recording, Carroll is heard telling police his name. A police officer is heard saying
-We’ll let you go. You can’t come back. If you come back, you will be arrested.
Carroll responds
-Ok and then asks a group of colleagues to come closer.
Then he is seen being led away by a policeman, with his hands behind his back.
Journalist taken away
CNN later reported that while Carroll was at large, two of his photographers were arrested.
Carroll described the situation above to CNN
-I walked over to the policeman, trying to explain who I was, who I was with. He said, “I want you to turn around.”
I turned around, running my hands behind my back.
They didn’t put me in handcuffs, but they held me in my arms, as if I were going to be remanded in custody.
Newspaper staff report
A coalition of 27 press and civil liberties groups have written to US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
They want to express their dissatisfaction that the police may have violated the rights of journalists in the “Constitution”
The meeting, led by the Los Angeles Press Club, the First Amendment Coalition, and the Freedom of the Press Foundation, further wrote, that
“The press plays an important role in our democracy, as the eyes and ears of the public.
A number of reports suggest that police officers have used force without cause. Firearms such as tear gas or pepper spray and rubber bullets have also been used, causing serious injuries to journalists.
In some cases, the police seem to have deliberately targeted journalists who did nothing but cover the situation”
Journalists wet
