Atlanta pays settlement to photojournalist arrested during George Floyd protests

ATLANTA - The City of Atlanta will pay more than $100,000 in a settlement to a photojournalist arrested during the Black Lives Matter protest in 2020.

On June 1, photojournalist Sharif Hassan was photographing the protests in Downtown Atlanta over the death of George Floyd by police officers a few days before in Minneapolis.

While taking photos of Atlanta police officers making an arrest, his attorneys say he was forced to the ground and handcuffed due to the city's 9 p.m. curfew. Despite identifying himself as a journalist to officers and other officers being allowed to work nearby, he was taken into custody and put in jail overnight.

"He was very clear from the get-go that he was a journalist, and he was acting as a journalist, and he was filming at the time of his arrest," said Gerry Weber, a civil rights lawyer who represented Hassan.

According to his attorneys, Hassan was held in jail overnight, and it took six months before prosecutors dropped the charges for "evidentiary reasons."

Working with the University of Georgia School of Law’s First Amendment Clinic and civil rights attorneys Gerald Weber and L. Burton Finlayson, Hassan sued the city on First Amendment grounds.

"Our client was clearly arrested in retaliation for starting to photograph someone else's arrest," explained Clare Norins, director of the First Amendment Clinic. 

This week, attorneys announced that the city settled with Hassan for $105,000.

The settlement also includes language in which the city has agreed to include a proposal in executive orders that working members of the media are included in curfew exemptions.

"One of the points we were trying to make with this lawsuit is that the city needs to be more mindful, certainly the police do as well, but city officials need to keep in mind that First Amendment rights are not suspended during times of curfew orders," said Norins.

A protester faces off with police during rioting and protests in Atlanta on May 29, 2020. (Photo by JOHN AMIS/AFP via Getty Images)

Weber said the city and APD need a culture shift.

"This is the sixth successful lawsuit that I've had against the City of Atlanta for citizens filming police conduct and at some point, the city needs to learn that lesson that they can't do it," said Weber.  "Some of those cases involve policy changes and training requirements, but still it keeps happening."  

"This resolution sends an important message that First Amendment rights must be protected, including, and especially, during times of political and social upheaval," said Norins. "It is essential that working members of the media be allowed to observe and report on matters of public concern, including after-curfew interactions between civilians and the Atlanta Police Department."

In a statement released to the media, Hassan said he brought the lawsuit to hold Atlanta "accountable for hastily creating a police state while leaving our rights as journalists as an afterthought."

Unlawful arrest while being separated and handcuffed through the night is something that should not happen to members of the press. The goal is to ensure that our rights are protected in the future," he said.