Freelance photojournalist arrested filming police in California

Freelance photojournalist Edward Baier was arrested while documenting police activity in San Diego, California, on Nov. 27, 2023.

Baier, who sells breaking news footage to TV stations, told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he saw a police helicopter circling the area near a freeway, drove to the scene, and began recording officers below from a public sidewalk atop the bridge. The incident involved a man who had jumped from the bridge and was being taken into custody by police.

According to a lawsuit Baier filed in May 2024, officers approached him without warning, took his cellphone — causing his recording to stop before saving any footage — searched his van without probable cause and held him in custody for 16 hours.

No charges were ever filed against him. He told the Tracker his cellphone and camera were later returned.

In the lawsuit, Baier alleges that his repeated requests to speak with a public information officer or supervisor were denied, even though San Diego Police Department policy requires a response to such queries from media members.

“Mr. Baier had committed no crime. He had a right to be where he had been and a right to record the events occurring in public involving public officials. In no way did Mr. Baier impede or hinder any police officer,” the complaint states.

The city of San Diego argues that Baier violated the terms of his probation from another case that required him to stay 15 yards away from police conducting an investigation, and contends that officers had probable cause to arrest him.

But in a March 2025 decision denying a motion to dismiss Baier’s suit, U.S. District Judge Anthony Battaglia said it was premature to say if any probation violation was willful or accidental, since Baier was on a public sidewalk, other civilians were present and officers did not warn him.

Baier, a self-described First Amendment advocate, has previously been arrested during confrontations with police. “If you’re gonna go out there and advocate, you’ve got to pay the price,” Baier said. “And then you fight it after the fact.”

The civil case is now on hold pending the outcome of a separate case involving Baier, who faces a misdemeanor charge from an unrelated April 2023 incident in which he is accused of obstructing firefighters and emergency responders while trying to observe and photograph them. That case is expected to go to trial in early 2026.