ABC7 Reporter Detained Trying To Cover Grass Fire

  NEWS

NAPA, Calif., Jul. 11, 2007 (KGO) (KGO) -- ABC7's Wayne Freedman and his photographer were detained by Napa County Sheriff's deputies while covering a grass fire in Napa this afternoon.

Wayne, his photographer Craig Southern, and other members of the media were stopped at a checkpoint where they were told to stop taking pictures of the fire from that location.

When our crew questioned the officer's orders, their camera was confiscated and a cell phone broken.

Both Wayne and his photographer were handcuffed and placed in the back of a squad car for 15 minutes.

A sheriff's department captain later apologized and both were released without being charged.

State law allows the media to report and take pictures from within police lines, as Wayne tried to do today.

ABC7 plans to file a complaint against the two deputies tomorrow. The station will also pursue all legal options.

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