Two journalists arrested while covering separate protests in Ferguson, Missouri, last year have reached settlements with St. Louis County officials under which no charges will be filed against them and the arrests are expunged from their records, according to the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri.
Bilgin Şaşmaz, a journalist with the Turkish Anadolu Agency, was arrested Aug. 19 amid a wave of riots and heated protests that took hold in Ferguson in the weeks following the fatal shooting of a black, unarmed 18-year-old man by a white police officer.
Gerald “Trey” Yingst, a reporter with the online news site News2Share, was arrested while reporting near the Ferguson Police Department on Nov. 22, two days before it was announced that a grand jury would not indict the police officer, Darren Wilson.
According to the Freedom of the Press Foundation, the two were among 24 journalists arrested while reporting on the events in Ferguson between August and November.
At the time of his arrest, Mr. Şaşmaz was photographing a chaotic scene alongside a contingent of other reporters but was the only one among them taken into custody.
According to a lawsuit filed by the ACLU, Mr. Şaşmaz was taking photos of St. Ann Police Department Officer Ray Albers while the officer was pointing a firearm at protestors and yelling that he was going to kill them. He was subsequently thrown to the ground and placed in handcuffs despite identifying himself as “press.” His camera was damaged during the incident and he was held in custody overnight and charged with “failure to disperse.”
CNN reported at the time that more than six reporters were arrested or detained that evening alone.
Mr. Yingst was arrested and charged with unlawful assembly while videotaping protests near the police department.
Both journalists filed lawsuits against St. Louis County and the officers involved, alleging that they had been unlawfully arrested.
As part of the settlements in the case, St, Louis County will pay Mr. Yingst $8,500.
Both reporters agreed to dismiss their own lawsuits against St. Louis County and the officers involved as a part of the settlement. Both will be able to expunge their arrest records from the incidents as well.
“Bilgin and Trey are relieved to put these incidents behind them and to no longer have the possibility of criminal charges hanging over their heads,” said Tony Rothert, legal director of the ACLU of Missouri. “We are gratified that St. Louis County acknowledges that they should never have been arrested.”
• Andrea Noble can be reached at anoble@washingtontimes.com.
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