NPR reporter arrested during George Floyd protest will receive settlement from L.A. County

A radio reporter taken into custody while covering a demonstration the night two sheriff’s deputies were shot three years ago reached a $700,000 settlement on Tuesday with Los Angeles County.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved the payout to Josie Huang, a journalist for NPR affiliate LAist.

“Journalists in Los Angeles County should be able to record police activity in public without fear of unlawful arrest,” Huang said in a statement after the supervisors’ vote. “My arrest was traumatic, but I hope that some good can still come of this experience.”

Deputies slammed Huang to the ground Sept. 12, 2020, and accused her of interfering with the arrest of a protester outside a hospital where deputies were being treated for gunshot wounds. The demonstration occurred during a series of protests following the murder of George Floyd.

After she was released from jail, Huang tweeted she was “filming an arrest when suddenly deputies shout ‘back up.’ Within seconds, I was getting shoved around. There was nowhere to back up.”

In cellphone video, Huang could be heard shouting “I’m a reporter” as she tumbles to the pavement. She said she was wearing a press pass.