Seattle media ordered to turn over protest images
SEATTLE — Five news outlets, including The Seattle Times, will have to comply with a subpoena and give the Seattle Police Department unpublished video and photos from a May 30 racial justice protest that turned violent, a judge ruled Thursday.
King County Superior Court Judge Nelson Lee sided with the Police Department in a morning hearing, ruling that its subpoena was enforceable. He found that the photos and video were critical for an investigation into the alleged arson of police vehicles and theft of police guns.
Lee said the news organizations were not protected by a Washington state shield law that under many circumstances prevents authorities from obtaining reporters’ unpublished materials.
The judge placed some limits on the subpoena. He said police could use the images to identify suspects only in the arson and gun theft investigations. Detectives could not use the photos or video to pursue suspects in vandalism or other lesser crimes — even if police found such evidence.
The subpoena would also be limited to professional camera equipment and would exclude reporters’ cellphone photos and videos.
The Seattle Times and TV stations KIRO 7, KING 5, KOMO 4 and KCPQ 13 were all subpoenaed.
Lee ruled that the Police Department had met its burden to overcome the shield law: that the images were “highly material and relevant” and “critical or necessary” to prove an issue that has a compelling public interest for its disclosure.
The law also required the police to demonstrate that all “reasonable and available means” to obtain the information has been exhausted.
Seattle Times Executive Editor Michele Matassa Flores said the paper strongly opposes the subpoena and “believes it puts our independence, and even our staff’s physical safety, at risk.”
“The media exist in large part to hold governments, including law enforcement agencies, accountable to the public,” said Matassa Flores. “We don’t work in concert with government, and it’s important to our credibility and effectiveness to retain our independence from those we cover.”