LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva announced Tuesday his department is targeting an L.A. Times journalist in a criminal leak investigation for her reporting on the department's cover-up of an incident in which a deputy kneeled on the head of a handcuffed inmate for three minutes.
The sheriff's attack on reporter Alene Tchekmedyian during a news conference drew immediate condemnation from the newspaper.
"His attempt to criminalize news reporting goes against well-established constitutional law," said Kevin Merida, executive editor of the Times, in a statement. "We will vigorously defend Tchekmedyian's and the Los Angeles Times' rights in any proceeding or investigation brought by authorities."
