A federal judge took the Los Angeles Police Department to task this week, approving a restraining order preventing officers from using nonlethal weapons against journalists.
The Los Angeles Press Club was granted a two-week restraining order against the department after “the group said it documented dozens of incidents in which officers forced reporters away from public spaces where protests were taking place, hit them with rubber bullets and nonlethal weapons and exposed them to tear gas,” Politico reports.
“When journalists persisted in documenting the protests, it appears from the evidence presented that they faced an onslaught of projectiles and other shows of physical force,” U.S. District Judge Hernán D. Vera’s ruling said. “On some occasions, LAPD officers purportedly targeted individuals who were clearly identifiable as members of the press.”
One prominent instance soon after the raids started involved an Australian journalist who was struck by a rubber bullet while on air.
Video of the incident appears to show an officer — it’s not immediately clear if they’re an LAPD officer or with another agency — purposefully take aim at reporter Lauren Tomasi, who clutches her leg when it’s struck.
This temporary restraining order is put in place to allow the court more time to deliberate on a longer-term restraining order, Politico reports.
The LAPD said they do not comment on pending litigation.
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