Reporter who revealed cover-up investigated
Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva announced Tuesday his department is targeting a Times journalist in a criminal leak investigation for her reporting on the department's cover-up of an incident in which a deputy kneeled on the head of a handcuffed inmate for three minutes.
The sheriff's attack on reporter Alene Tchekmedyian during a news conference drew immediate condemnation from the newspaper.
“His attempt to criminal- ize news reporting goes against well-established constitutional law,” said Kevin Merida, executive editor of The Times, in a statement. “We will vigorously defend Tchekmedyian's and the Los Angeles Times' rights in any proceeding or investigation brought by authorities.”
The Times published a report last month that described how Sheriff's Department officials worked to cover-up the March 2021 incident because they feared it would paint the department in a “negative light.” The Times report was accompanied by surveillance video from a lock-up area of the San Fernando Courthouse that captured the deputy kneeling on the inmate's head after handcuffing him.
Earlier this week, the newspaper and other outlets reported on a legal claim in which a department commander alleged that Villanueva participated in the coverup, telling underlings, “We do not need bad media at this time.” Villanueva has denied being involved in the cover-up, saying he learned of the violent detention eight months after it occurred and immediately launched an investigation into it.
In the wake of the reports on the commander's claims,