L.A. Times reporters attacked by Minnesota troopers will settle lawsuit for $1.2 million

[Pyrite]

L.A. Times reporters attacked by Minnesota troopers will settle lawsuit for $1.2 million

The journalists sued the Minnesota State Patrol in 2021 after being cornered and attacked by officers while covering a protest of George Floyd's slaying.

www.latimes.com

Two journalists who were cornered and attacked by the Minnesota State Patrol as they covered protests over George Floyd’s murder for the Los Angeles Times will soon settle a lawsuit with the state for $1.2 million. The pair, one current and one former L.A. Times employee, alleged the troopers violated their 1st Amendment rights.

The settlement stems from a violent May 30, 2020, incident, when staff photographer Carolyn Cole and Molly Hennessy-Fiske, then The Times’ Houston bureau chief, were in Minneapolis covering the community’s response to Floyd’s murder by former Police Officer Derek Chauvin.

Minnesota’s governor had issued an executive order for a nighttime curfew in Minneapolis and St. Paul, but the directive exempted law enforcement, emergency personnel and news media.

On May 30, after the curfew went into effect, the two reporters were covering a protest when, they said, state troopers ordered crowds to disperse.

Even though they were wearing credentials, carrying media equipment and identified themselves as press, the journalists said, the troopers then backed them and other media personnel into a corner against a wall and began firing projectiles and pepper-spraying the group....

 

[Taylor]

Even though they were wearing credentials, carrying media equipment and identified themselves as press, the journalists said, the troopers then backed them and other media personnel into a corner against a wall and began firing projectiles and pepper-spraying the group....

That's nuts. Anything happen to the cops that did this? I'm guessing no?... "The state of Minnesota did not admit wrongdoing in the settlement. "

 

[Pyrite]

That's nuts. Anything happen to the cops that did this? I'm guessing no?... "The state of Minnesota did not admit wrongdoing in the settlement. "

Good question.

I don't know. I'll try to remember to check this out.

 

[Jessie C]

There's a pay wall on this article.

 

[Pyrite]

There's a pay wall on this article.

Yes, I know. Sorry about that. I excerpted as much as I dared, in order to comply with forum rules.

So far, I haven't found the names of the State Troopers.

LA Times photographer targeted with pepper spray while covering Minneapolis protests

Los Angeles Times photographer Carolyn Cole was one of more than a dozen journalists fired at with crowd-control munitions and …

pressfreedomtracker.us

...Cole, a photojournalist, and Hennessy-Fiske, a staff writer, were among the more than 30 journalists assaulted while covering protests in Minneapolis, Minnesota on May 30, 2020, following the death of George Floyd during an arrest in the city five days prior.

According to the journalists’ suit, State Patrol officers advanced on a group of journalists assembled across the street from the Minneapolis Police Fifth Precinct. Henessy-Fiske was struck in the left leg with crowd-control munitions at least five times, which left her bruised and bloodied, according to the suit. Cole was temporarily blinded after being directly pepper sprayed, causing a chemical burn and corneal abrasion.

“None of the defendants or any other officers issued any warnings to the press group that force would be used before they started firing,” the lawsuit reads. “Both photojournalism and written or spoken words play vital roles in the freedom of the press, particularly in such a tumultuous time in our nation’s history with regard to police excessive use of force and unauthorized use of deadly force.”

The suit requests punitive damages to be paid by each of three unidentified State Patrol officers, Cpt. Joseph Dwyer and Lt. Timothy Salto, as well as the journalists’ costs and attorneys fees....

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

Linda Tirado

In May 2020, she was injured in her left eye while she was covering the George Floyd protests in Minneapolis–Saint Paul. Tirado believed the injury was caused by a rubber bullet fired by the police, though it was later reported to be a sponge bullet.[7] Following surgery, the prognosis was that she would be blind in that eye. She returned to work the following day.[8][9][10][11] Tirado filed suit against the police around June 14, 2020.[7] On May 26, 2022, in the protest aftermath, the Minneapolis City Council agreed to a $600,000 settlement.[12]

In August 2020, Tirado received the John Aubuchon Press Freedom Award from the National Press Club.[13]

 

[Pyrite]

Linda Tirado
View attachment 67501336
In May 2020, she was injured in her left eye while she was covering the George Floyd protests in Minneapolis–Saint Paul. Tirado believed the injury was caused by a rubber bullet fired by the police, though it was later reported to be a sponge bullet.[7] Following surgery, the prognosis was that she would be blind in that eye. She returned to work the following day.[8][9][10][11] Tirado filed suit against the police around June 14, 2020.[7] On May 26, 2022, in the protest aftermath, the Minneapolis City Council agreed to a $600,000 settlement.[12]

In August 2020, Tirado received the John Aubuchon Press Freedom Award from the National Press Club.[13]

Thanks!

Here's hoping having to cough up money will deter future incidents targeting reporters.

 

[Craig234]

What is the more likely solution for officials to pursue: prevent the abuses, or prevent being able to sue? Spoiler alert: "Tort reform" is a long-standing top priority for Republicans.

 

[Common Sense 1]

Minneapolis City Council agreed to a $600,000 settlement.

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

Thanks!

Here's hoping having to cough up money will deter future incidents targeting reporters.

I spent the FORMATIVE years of my young adulthood IN the very South Minneapolis neighborhood where this happened.
The store was NOT known as "Cup Foods" back then and I actually don't remember what it was called but it was the same setup, a kind of liquor store that had an expanded food section along with beer, wine, ciggies, etc....it's just that the owner was some really old guy with a Norwegian accent, like you hear on the movie "Fargo".

That place where it happened was right around the corner from where I lived so the whole incident and the damage that followed affects me.
I had a lot of fond memories of South Minneapolis.

 

[Loulit01]

Minneapolis settles lawsuit with Linda Tirado, journalist blinded in one eye during May 2020 unrest • Minnesota Reformer

Tirado joins an ever-growing list of bystanders and journalists receiving large settlements from the city due to the behavior of police officers in the days after the police murder of George Floyd

minnesotareformer.com

In an early ruling in Tirado’s case last year, a federal judge wrote that “Tirado’s experience as a journalist during the George Floyd protests and her injuries are serious and troubling.”

The judge added: “That numerous other journalists experienced similar, seemingly unjustified incidents involving less-lethal munitions and other measures is even more troubling, as the allegations plausibly suggest an unconstitutional custom carried out by (Minneapolis Police) officers of targeting journalists for unlawful reprisals.”

In a separate case, another federal judge issued an injunction against the Minnesota State Patrol prohibiting them from arresting or using force against journalists covering protests.