Falsely arrested journalist reaches settlement

A Valley Stream freelance journalist, whose First Amendment rights were violated by the Suffolk County Police Department, has reached a settlement in his lawsuit that includes monetary damages and increased training for officers.

In July 2011, Philip Datz was filming police activity on a street in Bohemia when he was approached by Suffolk County Police Sgt. Michael Milton. The officer told him to turn off the camera and leave, and stated he could not film because it was an active investigation. Datz moved further back, was approached again by Milton, and arrested. His equipment was seized.

Datz recorded much of the confrontation with Milton, who was later disciplined by the Police Department. Within a few hours, his equipment was returned. All charges against Datz were dropped, and police officials issued an apology.

He called last week’s settlement a victory for journalists and citizens. In his decade as a freelance journalist, Datz said he has been in situations before where he felt his First Amendment rights were being violated by police. But the fact that he was arrested made this case so extreme.

An internal investigation by the Police Department ruled that Datz was falsely arrested, and that Milton violated the department’s rules and procedures in his handling of a bystander at a crime scene. Bystanders are permitted at police incidents in public locations, as long as they don’t interfere with police operations. The investigation found no evidence of interference by Datz.

It did note that Datz's claims of excessive force by Milton were unfounded.

In 2012, Datz, the National Press Photographers Association and the New York Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against the Police Department. On June 18, a settlement was announced. Datz will be paid $200,000.

Suffolk County has also agreed to create a police-media relations committee to address issues between members of the press and the Police Department. The department has agreed to annually train and test all police officers on the First Amendment rights of the public and the media at scenes.

Datz, 37, said it was important to him to protect journalists going forward, which is why he sought the training for officers. “That’s a mandated part of the settlement,” he said. “That was one of the key parts to the suit.”

“We fully support freedom of the press and transparency in everything government does,” said Suffolk County Legislature Presiding Officer DuWayne Gregory. “That is why we unanimously approved the settlement of this lawsuit. We believe that our Police Department understands the rights of all citizens and that the subject of this lawsuit was a single and isolated case. If this lawsuit settlement's requires that our police force gets the training it might need to more fully understand the rights of the free press in the United States, fine and good.”

Since Datz’s arrest, the department’s procedures have been revised to instruct officers that “members of the media cannot be restricted from entering and/or producing recorded media from areas that are open to the public, regardless of subject matter.”

Datz said only time will tell if the increased training makes a difference. “When police arrest journalists just for doing their job, it jeopardizes everyone’s ability to stay informed about important news in their community,” he said. “Journalists have a duty to cover what the police are doing, and this settlement strengthens the ability of journalists and the community to hold the police accountable for their actions as well as protecting the First Amendment rights of the public.”