Politics & Government

Ramona Journalist Claims 'Retaliatory Animus' in First Amendment Suit

J.C. Playford files new case against police chief, sheriff and district attorney over media rights.

Like an indulgent teacher letting a student retake a final exam, U.S. District Judge Irma Gonzalez advised James “J.C.” Playford he could amend his First Amendment lawsuit against a who’s who of local law enforcers.

Lawyers for Playford, a Ramona photojournalist and videographer, filed the new complaint Monday in San Diego federal court.

It grew from 31 pages to 43 pages, adding details on several incidents in which Playford says he was prevented from doing his job or had his gear confiscated.

Find out what's happening in Ramonawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Gonzalez had dismissed the first suit March 25 but said “deficiencies” in the arguments of Playford and co-plaintiff Edward Peruta, his employer, could be corrected and a new suit “is not necessarily futile.”

[Original and amended lawsuits are attached as PDFs, along with Judge Gonzalez's dismissal order.]

Find out what's happening in Ramonawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Playford, Peruta and American News and Information Services of Connecticut have sued Sheriff Bill Gore, San Diego Police Chief Bill Lansdowne, District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis and sheriff’s spokeswoman Jan Caldwell among others.

The lawsuit asks that their own company-issued press credentials be recognized for “unfettered access to all non-crime scene, public safety response events.”

Playford and Peruta, who say they suffered damages, also asked the judge to protect news people from being detained, blocked, being asked for their ID or quizzed on their reasons for recording, etc.

Six counts are listed in the April 15 complaint, compared with five in one filed last September.

The new count cites a federal privacy protection law and accuses Gore, Dumanis and five sheriff’s deputies of seizing raw footage taken at three incidents between March 2010 and May 2012.

Attorneys Rachel Baird of Torrington, CT, and Richard Williams of San Diego represent Playford—a former house painter—and Peruta, who lives in both Connecticut and San Diego.

Throughout the new lawsuit, Baird and Williams take pains to cite First, Fourth and 14th Amendment rights violations and exemptions for journalists under state Penal Code section 409.5(d).

Also prominent in the amended suit are references to “retaliatory animus” against the plaintiffs and the chilling effects of blocked access.

Among other things, Playford says the San Diego Police Department was angry that he posted video of “sordid activities at a makeshift brothel comprised of individuals illegally … in the United States which the SDPD vehemently denied existed in the city’s McGonigle Canyon.”

Three months after he shot the video in October 2009, Playford’s application for a renewed press credential was denied by police, the suit says, implying retaliation.

The suit says Caldwell, the sheriff’s public affairs director, even circulated a captioned photo of Playford that allegedly read: “Per Jan Caldwell J.C. Playford is not a member of the media.”

The suit also notes a May 25, 2012, incident where Playford tried to videotape a fatal accident on state Route 67 but was blocked and eventually arrested despite his contention that Ramona Sentinel reporter Karen Brainard and an NBC crew were allowed to stay.

Included in the new suit are comments made by sheriff’s spokeswoman Caldwell to a San Diego Society of Professional Journalists panel on Feb. 19.

Caldwell is quoted as saying: “Because you can sit with your Apple laptop in your fuzzy slippers, you can be 800 pounds, a disabled man who can’t get out of bed and be a journalist, because you can blog something.”

In reply, the suit says:

The presence of Playford, American News or any other news service that refuses to compromise their First Amendment freedoms and rights disrupts the efforts of government officials like …. Caldwell, who direct, control and, in some cases, prevent the dissemination of information to the public based on personal, discriminatory and retaliatory animus to protect the image of government agencies.

Contacted Tuesday, Caldwell told Patch: “We respectfully refer you to County Counsel.”

Asked for comment, county spokeswoman Sarah Gordon said via email: “County Counsel generally does not comment on pending claims and suits, and I expect that will be so here too.”

San Diego Police Department officials did not immediately respond to Patch inquiries.

The new lawsuit, like the original, also asks for unspecified compensatory and punitive damages, attorney’s fees and “such other relief as this court may deem.”

No hearing dates were yet set in the case—No. 12-CV-2186-IEG(KSC)


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here