Las Vegas police arrested two photojournalists, including a Review-Journal staff photographer, who were photographing a tense Friday night protest on the Strip.
Review-Journal photographer Ellen Schmidt was arrested, along with Bridget Bennett, a freelance photographer and former Review-Journal employee. Both were booked into the Clark County Detention Center, and each faces a misdemeanor charge of failing to disperse, court records show.
Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo told the Nevada Independent on Saturday that the journalists were arrested after refusing to obey two orders to disperse, and that they did not identify themselves as members of the media.
Schmidt disputed Lombardo’s claim.
“I was shouting that I’m a journalist, wearing my press badge, shouting that (Bridget) was a journalist, onlookers were shouting that we’re journalists, and Bridget identified herself with AFP (Agence France-Presse)”, Schmidt said.
A Saturday afternoon news release from the Metropolitan Police Department about the protest did not acknowledge the journalists’ arrests.
Schmidt was arrested while officers in riot gear attempted to disperse a crowd they had pushed east of Las Vegas Boulevard and onto Flamingo Road. The crowd, which was at about 100 people by 9 p.m., was protesting the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody.
“It is appalling that Las Vegas police officers, who have nothing to do with what happened in Minnesota, would so forcefully take into custody two people who were obviously working photojournalists and posed no threat to law enforcement or public safety,” Review-Journal Executive Editor Glenn Cook said Saturday. “They never should have been touched, let alone arrested and then booked into jail.”
The protest was mostly peaceful, but some demonstrators threw water bottles at police and shouted profanities. Later in the night, a smaller group of demonstrators was seen throwing rocks at police.
The police were warning people to move out of the road or face arrest. At other points, they shouted at the crowd that protesters on the sidewalk also would be arrested.
Metro Lt. Dori Koren said during a media briefing Friday night that 30 to 40 protesters were arrested, but that the number was fluctuating. Metro on Saturday reported that 80 had been arrested.
Las Vegas Chief Justice of the Peace Suzan Baucum said Saturday that none of the people arrested on the failure-to-disperse misdemeanor charge should have had to post bail. Due to the coronavirus, those arrested on misdemeanors should be released on their own recognizance, with few exceptions, she said.
“These should never have happened,” Baucum said, adding that there was a miscommunication between police and Las Vegas Justice Court pretrial services.
“These people should have never been held on these misdemeanors,” she said. “It’s a travesty.”
Both Schmidt and Bennett were released from jail early Saturday after posting a $1,000 cash bail, court records show.
In response to a question during the briefing Friday night about whether a newspaper photographer had been arrested, Lt. Dori Koren said he didn’t have that information. He said he could say with confidence that those arrested were violating the law where there was a safety issue.
“The press serve a vital, constitutionally protected role during moments of national strife and civil disobedience,” Nevada Press Association Executive Director Richard Karpel said Saturday. “Journalists put themselves at risk to inform citizens about protesters’ grievances and their actions, and to observe whether law enforcement personnel are operating within the bounds of the law. The arrest of journalists working in a public forum at a highly newsworthy event is absolutely unacceptable.”
A photo taken by Las Vegas Sun photographer Steven Marcus showed Schmidt with her hands behind her back, standing next to a police officer who was holding her camera. Schmidt said the officer was turning her camera off.
“In an already tumultuous time for our city and country, it’s upsetting to have the right to document public events threatened by police,” Schmidt said. “I hope this brings light to the importance of press freedom and then returns to the story I was reporting on.”
A video sent to the Review-Journal showed Schmidt and Bennett’s arrest. Both women are seen walking away from officers ordering to people to back up before officers grabbed them. Moments before their arrest, the women were photographing officers rushing protesters, which happened frequently as the protest lasted through Friday night.
An officer also shoved Schmidt before she began walking away, the video shows.
The march on Friday started about 2:30 p.m. at the Bellagio, and at one point grew to about 400 people spread out from the Bellagio to the Circus Circus.
Police were seen arresting people who did not follow orders, and also were seen tackling multiple protesters.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter. Staff writer David Ferrara contributed to this report.
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