White House Photographer Gets $45K, Montgomery County Police 'Violated His Constitutional Rights'

WHEATON, MD — A freelance photographer won $45,000 in a settlement from a 2011 case in Wheaton, where he was arrested for disorderly conduct by Montgomery County Police, according to reports.

Mannie Garcia photographed Montgomery County Police while they arrested two Hispanic men and used "excessive force," Garcia said in court documents.

Garcia identified himself as press to the police and complied with their request to move back from the scene, yet he was arrested, put into a chokehold, thrown to the ground and dragged across the street. The officers also took Garcia's camera and camera card from him, the complaint said.

See Related: Montgomery County Case at Center of Justice Department Support for Citizens Recording Police

The lawsuit Garcia filed claimed false arrest, malicious prosecution and battery.

Garcia's attorney, Robert Corn-Revere, said Garcia has a “constitutional right to take pictures of officers” as they perform their public duties, and the officers “violated his constitutional right and common law rights.”

Garcia also said his ability to work was effected from the incident, since his White House credentials were suspended pending the outcome of the case, WTOP reports.

Robert Corn-Revere said the settlement helps "clarify the law" for journalists and citizens alike.

“It helps clarify the law — that both reporters and citizens have a First Amendment right to document police doing their duties in public places,” Corn-Revere, according to WTOP.

Garcia was awarded the $45,000 settlement, and an award of legal fees and costs associated with the suit are expected to be decided later.

“This was never about the money,” Corn-Revere told WTOP. “This was really about making sure that this kind of thing never happens again to anyone else.”

The Montgomery County Police issued new guidelines in a training bulletin as of January 2017 that detail how police should handle situations where they're being photographed or recorded.

“We’re pleased that the county has decided to adopt new training procedures for police to make sure that they understand that the First Amendment protects the right to record the police,” Corn-Revere said to WTOP.

Patch File Photo