FOI committee asks San Diego PD to restore credentials
July 25, 2007
Chief William M. Lansdowne
San Diego Police Department
1401 Broadway
San Diego,
CA 92101
SENT VIA EMAIL, FAX AND MAIL
Dear Chief Lansdowne:
The Society of Professional Journalists, the nation’s
largest journalism advocacy organization, strongly objects to the San Diego
Police Department’s revoking press credentials for photojournalist Ed Baier and
support his appeal for credential reinstatement. Both the facts in the
instances that lead to the revocation and flaws in the revocation process
warrant the reinstatement.
First, after reviewing the facts of the revocation, it seems
clear that Mr. Baier acted within his rights under the First Amendment to gather
news in the instances reported by officers. Mr. Baier has presented evidence
that shows he has complied with police policy. Mr. Baier has been respectful
and honored requests to back away from scenes. I am sure you are aware of the
specific response presented by Mr. Baier’s attorney in an appeal letter. At
times, journalists and police may be at cross purposes, but each should respect
the other’s role in society.
Second, the way in which Mr. Baier’s credentials were
revoked shows the system is flawed. According to Mr. Baier, top brass
distributed a copy of his revocation letter on June 25. During a daily line-up, on-duty officers were
told to confiscate his credentials. Mr. Baier said he was never informed of
these specific “infractions” and only received the letter informing him of the
revocation on June 28. That was after
the letter had been shared in a line-up and an officer took credentials. Mr.
Baier had to call the public information officer to discover the reasons for
the revocation.
The revocation system also lacks due process. The society
believes that journalists who violate policy should be given a warning at the
first infraction and be able to appeal such warnings if they dispute the facts
at issue. The process seems to embody
“guilty until proven innocent” and offers no opportunity to respond until
police pull credentials.
If you have any questions about our concerns please feel
free to contact me.
Sincerely,
Joel Campbell
Freedom of Information Committee
Society of Professional Journalists
801-422-2125
cc: Monica Munoz, San Diego Police Department
Jodi Cleesattle, San Diego Chapter
President
Ed Baier