Ramona Photojournalist Gets San Diego Police Press Pass Amid Lawsuit

Wearing a bikini-body T-shirt, James “J.C.” Playford walked out of the downtown headquarters of the San Diego Police Department on Monday with something he sued police and others over.

A press pass.

The Ramona photojournalist and videographer says in his federal suit that he shouldn’t need a police-issued press credential, but last week he decided to reapply for a pass—four years after an earlier one was revoked.

“Let’s see what they’ll do,” Playford said he thought to himself Thursday when he applied for the card, which is honored by all county public-safety agencies.

He also was issued a light-blue placard for his dashboard that allows him to park at news events without fear of being ticketed.

Playford said police computers were down Thursday and Friday, so he didn’t get his plastic photo ID until 10:30 Monday morning.

He said Gary Hassen, the San Diego police detective in charge of issuing press credentials, determined that Playford wasn’t a felon and was eligible under police definition of a media member.

Hassen determined there was “no reason to keep it from us,” Playford said in a phone interview.

Indeed, a felon could get a press credential if 10 years had passed since the conviction, Playford said he was told.

His San Diego police credential classifies him as “Independent”—rather than being an employee of a larger media operation—and expires two years after being issued. So his would need to be renewed in April 2015.

Hassen did not immediately respond to a Patch request for comment.

Playford—whose aggressive style has led to clashes with police and sheriff’s deputies—says he wears the bikini-body T-shirt “a lot on the beat,” and even calls them a big seller for him in Ramona.

He isn’t sure what led San Diego police to issue him the press pass, but he and fellow plaintiff Ed Peruta of American News and Information news service will still press their lawsuit in federal court.

Fellow photojournalist Ed Baier accompanied Playford to police headquarters Monday morning and said via email: “I think the bigger issue is that SDPD allows me to enter their HQ all the time to do [my] job even though I do not have a SDPD/Law Enforcement/Government Issued Press Credential.”

Like Playford, Baier has had run-ins with police, even being jailed in January 2012 on six counts of interfering with or resisting officers, according to U-T San Diego.

 “Haven't had [an SDPD press pass] for many years because they are NOT required by law,” Baier wrote. “So don’t get too excited because before the end of 2013 SDPD credentials are going to be extinct.”