DA Declines To Prosecute KPCC/<i>LAist</i> Reporter Josie Huang; DA Says LASD Evidence Insufficient To Show She Unlawfully Obstructed Deputies As She Video Reorded Protesters And LASD Response Outside Lynwood Hospital Where Wounded Deputies Taken After Compton Ambush Shooting

+ DA Declines To Prosecute KPCC/<i>LAist</i> Reporter Josie Huang; DA Says LASD Evidence Insufficient To Show She Unlawfully Obstructed Deputies As She Video Reorded Protesters And LASD Response Outside Lynwood Hospital Where Wounded Deputies Taken After Compton Ambush Shooting

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DA Declines To Prosecute KPCC/LAist Reporter Josie Huang; DA Says LASD Evidence Insufficient To Show She Unlawfully Obstructed Deputies As She Video Reorded Protesters And LASD Response Outside Lynwood Hospital Where Wounded Deputies Taken After Compton Ambush Shooting

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(Sept. 30, 2020, 4:50 p.m.) -- The LA County District Attorney's office has declined to file charges against KPCC/LAist reporter Josie Huang saying evidence offeredby the LA County Sheriff's Dept. was insufficent and doesn't show she unlawfully obstructed deputies as she video recorded events outside a Lynwood hospital where two ambushed LASD deputies fought for their lives as protesters converged outside and, LASD alleges, blocked the emergency entrance (as some yelled "We hope they [the deputies] die."

LAist.com has follow-up o the DA's decision at this link.

LAist cites a DA offices memo summarizing its decision:

"Ms. 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. It does not appear that she was intentionally attempting to interfere with the deputies, but merely trying to record the occurrence.
The DA’s account states that she was near the arrest "and while deputies had reason to ask her to back up, Ms. Huang was not given the opportunity to comply with their demand."
LAist says the DA's memo indicates "at least one deputy heard [Huang] say she was a reporter, because he can be heard to say, ‘Do what you're told if you're a reporter.’ That contradicts an incorrect Sheriff’s Department statement that Huang "did not identify herself as press."
It also notes that the penal code section she was accused of violating explicitly states that making a recording of any kind of a peace officer "in a public place" does not constitute a violation of the law.

[Scroll down for further.]

64 media outlets, including the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, blasted the Sheriff Dept's action and called for charges against Huang to be dropped.

LASD disagreed with the DA's decision not to pursue criminal charges, stating in an email quoted by LAist: "This case was investigated and all the elements of the crime were present. The case was presented to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office and they ultimately declined to prosecute. This is not uncommon, as they must weigh many factors into their decision."
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In a written statement to KPCC/LAist, Ms. Huang said:

I am gratified that the District Attorney’s Office has reviewed the evidence, including my video recordings of law enforcement activity, and reached the conclusion that it did. I am seeking a finding of "factual innocence" that will wipe this unlawful arrest from my record...More than ever, I am grateful for the First Amendment, which entitles all Americans -- not just journalists -- to the rights of free speech and assembly.

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