In September, 26-year-old student journalist Pablo Unzueta was arrested while covering protests in Los Angeles County. LASD seized Mr. Unzueta’s camera, memory card, and cell phone. His camera was returned, but his memory card and cell phone remain in the sheriff department’s custody.
The following letter was sent to each of the LA County Board of Supervisors; Hilda L. Solis, Mark Ridley-Thomas Sheila Kuehl, Janice Hahn, Kathryn Barger Liebrich (Chair); and Sheriff Alex Villanueva, LA Sheriff’s inspector general, Max Huntsman, and incoming DA/DA-elect George Gascón:
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The National Association of Hispanic Journalists Board of Directors would like to declare their support for Pablo Unzueta, a student journalist and staff member at the Daily 49er newspaper at California State University, Long Beach. On Sept. 8, 2020, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies arrested Unzueta, who as a member of the media, was visibly carrying his press credentials, identified himself as a journalist, and told law enforcement the reason for his presence at the protest. This arrest was a clear violation of Mr. Unzueta’s First Amendment freedoms.
Unzueta was photographing and documenting the events unfolding at a protest of the shooting of Dijon Kizzee when the LASD declared the protest unlawful. As Mr. Unzueta tried to move away from the area, he was trapped by deputies, unable to return to his car and he was soon arrested for allegedly failing to disperse.
Mr. Unzueta affirms he never defied any orders and did not step behind the deputy skirmish line. He was simply trying to leave the protest even though he had the right to remain on the scene and exercise his first amendment right to gather and document news.
The LASD has refused to provide Mr. Unzueta with a reason for his arrest and he has not been charged by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Mr. Unzueta’s arrest — without any explicit probable cause — was also a clear violation of the Fourth Amendment, which protects “the right of the people to be secured against unreasonable searches and seizures.” Mr. Unzueta endured extreme and unnecessary force from the LASD, suffered from exposure to pepper spray, and was also called a homophobic slur.
LASD seized Mr. Unzueta’s camera, memory card, and cell phone. His camera was returned, but his memory card and cell phone remain in the sheriff department’s custody. LASD claims there was never a memory card in the camera, but these claims are questionable at best because Mr. Unuzeta was there to photograph the protest and wouldn’t have done so without a memory card in his camera.
There is no legitimate reason for LASD to withhold Mr. Unzueta’s memory card and cell phone. The seizure and the continued withholding of his equipment are both illegal and violate Mr. Unzueta’s Fourth Amendment rights. We demand that Mr. Unzueta’s memory card and cell phone be returned to him immediately.
The NAHJ Board of Directors is concerned with the behavior of deputies regarding this case but also other similar cases involving the treatment of the press taking place this year. We welcome a discussion on the matter, and hope the sheriff takes this seriously and addresses how the department can better uphold the constitutional rights of a free press.
We look forward to your prompt response.
Sincerely,
National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ)
Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA)
AAJA-Los Angeles
California Chicano News Media Association (CCNMA)
Native American Journalists Association (NAJA)