The City of Atlanta will pay out a $105,000 settlement to a photojournalist who was arrested in Atlanta during 2020 Black Lives Matter protests.
Photojournalist Sharif Hassan was arrested on June 1, 2020 while photographing mass protests in downtown Atlanta in response to the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25.
Hassan was photographing police arresting demonstrators shortly after the 9 p.m. imposed curfew when he was forced to the ground and handcuffed, according to his attorneys. Hassan was arrested by police for breaking curfew despite identifying himself as a working journalist.
The city of Atlanta eventually dropped the charges for “evidentiary reasons.”
The University of Georgia School of Law’s First Amendment Clinic and civil rights attorneys recently won the settlement from the city for violating Hassan’s First Amendment rights, according to a press release.
“This resolution sends an important message that First Amendment rights must be protected, including, and especially, during times of political and social upheaval,” said First Amendment Clinic Director Clare Norins who also represented Hassan. “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.”
Hassan said in a statement that he decided to bring the lawsuit against the city 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,” he said. “The goal is to ensure that our rights are protected in the future.”
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