FILE - In this Sep. 17, 2020, file photo, Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva comments on the investigation of the shooting of two deputies during a news conference at the Hall of Justice in downtown Los Angeles. A radio reporter taken into custody while covering a demonstration the night two Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies were shot will not be criminally charged. Josie Huang, a journalist for KPCC, was slammed to the ground by deputies and accused of interfering with the arrest of a protester outside a hospital Sept. 12. Sheriff Alex Villanueva said Huang was too close to the deputies. But the Los Angeles County's District Attorney's Office says "it does not appear that she was intentionally attempting to interfere with the deputies, but merely trying to record" the incident. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES (AP) - A radio reporter taken into custody while covering a demonstration the night two Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies were shot will not be criminally charged, the county's district attorney's office said Thursday.
Josie Huang, a journalist for NPR affiliate KPCC, was slammed to the ground by deputies and accused of interfering with the arrest of a protester outside a hospital Sept. 12.
After she was released from jail, Huang tweeted she was 'œfilming an arrest when suddenly deputies shout '~back up.' Within seconds, I was getting shoved around. There was nowhere to back up.'ť
In cellphone video of the incident, Huang can be heard shouting, 'œI'm a reporter. ... I'm with KPCC'ť as she tumbles to the pavement. She said she was wearing a press pass.
Sheriff Alex Villanueva said Huang, 39, was too close to the deputies during the man's arrest. But the Los Angeles County's District Attorney's Office said 'œit does not appear that she was intentionally attempting to interfere with the deputies, but merely trying to record'ť the incident.
'œMs. Huang was in a public area filming a protest. When asked to back up, she is almost immediately grabbed by deputies and taken to the ground, giving her little if any time to comply,'ť prosecutors wrote in a memo declining to file criminal charges.
The Sheriff's Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A letter from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press condemning the arrest and calling for the charges against Huang to be dropped was signed by 64 media organizations, including The Associated Press.
FILE - In this Monday, Sept. 13, 2020, file photo Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies guard the entrance to St. Francis Medical Center after two deputies were shot late Saturday, Sept. 12, while sitting inside their patrol vehicle guarding a Metro station in Compton, Calif. A radio reporter taken into custody while covering a demonstration the night two Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies were shot will not be criminally charged. Josie Huang, a journalist for KPCC, was slammed to the ground by deputies and accused of interfering with the arrest of a protester outside a hospital. Sheriff Alex Villanueva said Huang was too close to the deputies. But the Los Angeles County's District Attorney's Office says "it does not appear that she was intentionally attempting to interfere with the deputies, but merely trying to record" the incident. (AP Photo/Jintak Han, File)
The Associated Press