Oakland, California settled a dispute with an independent video journalist detained for jaywalking while documenting alleged police misconduct. The reporter was detained in July of 2o13 while filming police during a demonstration after George Zimmerman’s acquittal in the shooting of Trayvon Martin. A lawyer for Jacob Crawford claimed that Oakland police routinely tried to pin traffic violations on demonstrators and journalists leaving demonstrations. (Courthouse News Service, May 22, 2015, by Katherine Proctor)
Crawford’s lawyer said in gathering information during the busts, the police were in effect chilling free speech. The charges in the case were dismissed in traffic court. (San Francisco Chronicle, May 21, 2015, by Henry K. Lee)