A King County, Washington, judge ruled Thursday that five media outlets must submit unpublished photos and recordings of a May 30 protest in Seattle for racial and social justice to the city’s police department.
King County Superior Court Judge Nelson Lee ruled Thursday morning that the department’s subpoena was final and that the materials were necessary for his investigation of the alleged robbery by the Seattle Police Department (SPD). and the burning of SPD vehicles after the protest turned violent, according to the Seattle Times.
The Seattle Times was one of the media cited.
Suspicious police are reportedly searching for six damaged vehicles, breaking windows and stealing equipment. The citation searches for images and photos from a 90-minute period in an area of four blocks.
Lee ruled that while the outlets were not protected by the state coat of arms law, which governs the circumstances in which authorities can search for unpublished materials from journalists, the police could only use the materials to identify suspects in the alleged arson and theft of weapons. According to the newspaper, they could not prosecute other crimes if the materials contain evidence of other irregularities.
Photos and videos on reporters’ personal cell phones are also exempt from the subpoena, which only applies to images on professional equipment.
In addition to the Times, the department cited KIRO7, KING5, KOMO4, and KCPQ13 television stations.
Times executive editor Michele Matass Flores argued that the subpoena “jeopardizes our independence, and even the physical safety of our staff,” according to the newspaper.
“The media exists largely to hold governments, including law enforcement agencies, to account to the public,” he said. “We do not work in concert with the government, and it is important to our credibility and effectiveness to maintain our independence from those we cover.”
Eric Stahl, the media lawyer, argued that the police could not demonstrate that they would be able to identify suspects from the materials they were looking for, and that “there must be a strong reason to believe that they will really be critical. ” evidence “in such images before citing them.
“We think there was a lot of speculation,” Stahl said after the hearing, saying the media had not yet decided whether to appeal the decision.
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