LA County Sheriff Ambles Back on Targeting LA Times Reporter After Paper Slams ‘Outrageous’ Attacks
LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva points at reporter Alene Tchekmedyian. Photo by Frank Stoltze/Twitter
Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva backed down to some extent after he announced on Tuesday an investigation into who leaked information to the Los Angeles Times for a report about him allegedly covering up a deputy putting his knee on an inmate.
Villanueva said at a furious press conference on Tuesday that “all parties” involved in the story — including, presumably, its author, Times reporter Alene Tchekmedyian — are under investigation.
“You placed her picture up there,” one reporter asked Villanueva, “and talked about it in terms of a criminal investigation. Is this Los Angeles Times reporter under investigation by the department?”
“The act is under investigation,” he replied. “All parties to the act are subject to investigation.”
The announcement that a reporter was potentially being investigated by the sheriff for reporting on alleged malfeasance in the sheriff’s department prompted a strong response from the Times.
Times executive editor Kevin Merida blasted the investigation as an “attempt to criminalize news reporting.”
“Sheriff Villanueva’s attack on Alene Tchekmedyian’s First Amendment rights for doing newsworthy reporting on a video that showed a deputy kneeling on a handcuffed inmate’s head is outrageous,” he said in a statement. “His attempt to criminalize news reporting goes against well-established constitutional law. We will vigorously defend Tchekmedyian’s and the Los Angeles Times’ rights in any proceeding or investigation brought by authorities.”
Times general counsel Jeff Glasser wrote a letter threatening legal action and calling the announcement “a thinly veiled attempt to intimidate Ms. Tchekmedyian for reporting unflattering (but entirely accurate) information about the conduct of individuals in your department and allegations of a cover-up by you and other officials.”
A few hours later on Tuesday night, Villanueva posted a tweet relenting — somewhat — on his targeting of the reporter.
Resulting from the incredible frenzy of misinformation being circulated, I must clarify at no time today did I state an LA Times reporter was a suspect in a criminal investigation. We have no interest in pursuing, nor are we pursuing, criminal charges against any reporters. pic.twitter.com/4N7Y8TToxt
— LA County Sheriffs (@LASDHQ) April 27, 2022
Last month, the Times published a video of a 2021 incident where a deputy put his right knee on the inmate’s neck for three minutes after the inmate punched the officer.
“Department officials had worried at the time about the negative publicity that could come from a deputy kneeling on a handcuffed man’s head, ‘given its nature and its similarities to widely publicized George Floyd use of force,’ according to an internal report by a commander critical of the cover-up,” reported the Times, referring to the Minneapolis case where a police officer, Derek Chauvin, put his left knee on Floyd’s neck, eventually killing him. The incident led to protests and riots nationwide, and Chauvin was convicted of murder.
“The commander’s July 2021 report indicated that sheriff’s officials decided not to pursue criminal charges against the inmate, who had punched the deputy in the face, to avoid drawing attention to the incident,” according to the Times. “Sheriff’s officials waited until January — almost a year after the incident — to take the case against the inmate to prosecutors.”
Villanueva told Los Angeles’ Fox affiliate that the incident was under investigation and the matter was not to be publicized.
“That is still an active case — it’s not supposed to see light of day until it’s concluded,” he told Fox 11. “And the fact that the Times had not only the investigation, they had the videotape — that was stolen from the department, and by department members.”
