Sheriff Villanueva investigates reporter who revealed jail coverup

Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said Tuesday that his department was targeting a Times journalist in a criminal leak investigation for her reporting on a departmental cover-up, but after a barrage of criticism from politicians, the newspaper and press freedom groups, he backed off his announcement and denied that he considered the reporter a suspect. “We have no interest in pursuing, nor are we pursuing, criminal charges against any reporters.” The Times published a report last month that described how Sheriff’s Department officials worked to cover up the March 2021 incident because they feared it would paint the department in a “negative light.” The Times report was accompanied by surveillance video from a lockup area of the San Fernando Courthouse that captured the deputy kneeling on the inmate’s head for three minutes after handcuffing him. David Loy, legal director at the nonprofit First Amendment Coalition, said that Tchekmedyian’s reporting was “a subject of public concern that the press has an absolute right if not a duty to report on.” The Media Guild of the West said in a statement: “We condemn these outrageous attacks on newsgathering, and we remain committed to supporting journalism that reports on the facts without fear or favor.” Villanueva termed the video stolen property, but Loy said if the reporter was given a copy of the video and reported on it, that would be “exactly what the 1st Amendment gives the press a right to do.” “I’m flabbergasted at some level, because what the sheriff is doing reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of basic 1st Amendment law. In a letter to Villanueva, Jeff Glasser, general counsel for The Times, stated that any attempt or threat to prosecute Tchekmedyian “is an abuse of your official position that risks subjecting you and the County to legal liability.” Glasser said that under the state’s reporter’s shield law, Tchekmedyian could not be compelled to reveal her sources and investigators were barred from obtaining search warrants aimed at Tchekmedyian. “You are on notice that if the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department attempts to search the property or data of Ms. Tchekmedyian or any other LA Times employee in this matter, the Department will have directly violated and clearly-established constitutional law, and LA Times will seek every available remedy against you, the Department, and every individual official involved in any such unlawful conduct,” Glasser wrote.