SPJ/LA Condemns Targeting of Journalist, Calls for City Attorney to Drop the Case
The Greater Los Angeles Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists issued the following statement on the harassment and intimidation of a working journalist by the Los Angeles Police Department and City Attorney Mike Feuer’s office:
SPJ/LA is concerned and outraged over the mistreatment of freelance journalist Lexis-Olivier Ray by the LAPD and Feuer’s office, stemming from an October 27, 2020 incident during a rowdy downtown street celebration after the Dodgers’ World Series win
Despite identifying himself as a working journalist, Ray was knocked to the ground by police and injured, with his equipment damaged. He resumed reporting that evening. His employer, the news site L.A. Taco, subsequently filed a complaint with the LAPD.
Despite the fact that Ray had not been arrested, detained or even cited on the night in question, the LAPD referred his case to the City Attorney for prosecution on charges of ignoring an order to disperse. Ray was summoned by the City Attorney to a hearing where he was warned that, while the office would decline to prosecute at this time, his case would remain open. Depending on his future conduct, he would remain liable for prosecution through October, a year after the initial incident.
The City Attorney’s warning will unavoidably have a chilling effect on future reporting by Ray, a Black journalist who aggressively covers police misconduct and other community issues. SPJ/LA objects in the strongest possible terms to the city’s conduct in this matter.
We call on Feuer and LAPD Chief Michel Moore to explain themselves, and urge the City Council to address this issue as well. The case against Ray should be dropped.
The press is the only profession that is specifically singled out for constitutional protection in the First Amendment to the Bill of Rights. Those in law enforcement who endanger or intimidate journalists must be held accountable.
CONTACT: Joel Bellman, SPJ/LA (424) 324-1815.
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