Napa Co SO detain media covering fire

Napa Co SO detain, media covering fire:

By DAVID RYAN
Register Staff Writer
6:30 p.m.Thursday, July 12, 2007

KGO-TV's ABC7 news director Kevin Keeshan said Wednesday he would be
pressing criminal charges and filing a civil lawsuit against Napa
County Sheriff's Deputies for briefly detaining two of his colleagues.

Keeshan said ABC7 news photographer Craig Southern and reporter Wayne
Freedman were detained by deputies around 4 p.m. Wednesday over an
argument about whether the journalists were too close to a fire
burning around the 2600 block of Atlas Peak Road.

Editors note: The media has the right by law to cover the fire and pass police barriers and it was not the Heavy handed Sheriffs concern as to what constitutes :"to close to the fire" Regardless and in fact the video of the incident shows it is quite obvious they were not close to the fire by any judgment at least a quarter mile away. And the Sheriff had allowed others even closer.
The Sheriff also purposely destroyed the reporters cell phone and manhandled the camera, detained the men in a closed police car without air during a heat wave, ...
Requiring a police supervisor to respond with a large dose of sanity and subsequently releasing the reporter and camera man without any charges!
The Sheriffs office supervisor let them out and apologized. If there were reasonable grounds for the arrest the Capt. would not have released them and apologized. At least there was one "thinking individual." Ref: Press law here in California - CPC 409.5 Access at Incident Scenes - http://www.chp.ca.gov/html/media.html

409.5(a) of the Penal Code: [The CHP may close the area to the public if] "...a menace to the public health or safety is created by a calamity such as a flood, storm, fire, earthquake, explosion, accident or other disaster..."

In spite of the preceding section:

409.5(d) of the Penal Code:
"Nothing in this section shall prevent a duly authorized representative of any news service...from entering the areas closed..."

Note: A safety hazard to the press does not justify restriction; however, it is CHP policy to warn the media of potential danger before allowing access.

Reasons for Denying Access to the Media

• Access would clearly interfere with emergency crews or equipment (Leiserson vs. San Diego).
• Site is a crime scene.

If access is denied, the CHP has two obligations:

1. Restrict media only as long as there is clear interference
2. Provide a press area with maximum access possible under the circumstances

The CHP may provide escorted access to a pool reporter and cameraperson.