DA Declines To Charge Marin Journalist At Center Of Controversy

MARIN COUNTY, CA — A Marin journalist at the center of a controversial arrest will not face criminal charges, according to the District Attorney’s office.

Jeremy Portje was arrested Nov. 30 after an altercation with police at a homeless encampment that left an officer injured, county officials said. The circumstances surrounding the clash remain unclear.

The officer was treated and released at a local hospital for a laceration and bruise on his face, county officials said.

Portje was arrested on suspicion of obstructing an executive officer (a felony), battery on a police officer with injury and battery on a police officer (both misdemeanors) and his gear was confiscated, county officials said.

Portje was at Marinship Park filming for a documentary about homelessness in Marin when an altercation with officers with whom he has a history precipitated his arrest, according to The Pacific Sun, the first publication to report his arrest.

Portje's video camera and cell phone were seized at the time of his arrest.

While search warrants were obtained to examine his phone and video footage for evidence of a crime, the District Attorney's office determined it would not review the evidence, county officials said.

The injured officer’s body camera was dislodged during the altercation, but its video was reviewed by prosecutors as was footage from other Sausalito officers and eyewitnesses.

Marin DA Lori E. Frugoli said the evidence to prove a case against Portje beyond a reasonable doubt wasn’t there.

“While we take all allegations of assault on a police officer seriously, in this case a team of veteran prosecutors who reviewed the case found that the evidence did not show beyond a reasonable doubt that Portje intended to injure the officer,” Frugoli said. “Beyond a reasonable doubt is the standard of proof required by ethical and legal standards for prosecutors to move forward with a case. It is a higher standard than probable cause, which is the standard required by law enforcement to make an arrest.”

Social justice advocates who witnessed the arrest painted a disturbing picture of police behavior during the arrest, according to the IJ report.

Portje currently serves on Novato's Police Advisory and Review Board, The IJ reports.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Portje owns and runs Mental Media, in independent visual-storytelling company.

Portje had made a public records request for body camera footage from the three officers in connection with the arrest of two homeless people arrested for camping in a downtown park earlier in the month, The Sun reports.

In a widely viewed video showing part of the arrest Portje is seen with his knees on the ground being restrained by two officers. He is heard asking the officers "What am I being charged with?" and onlookers are heard in the background chanting "let him go" and "don't hurt him."

"Why are they doing this? Because I asked them questions?" Portje is heard in the video asking the crowd rhetorically.

An eyewitness who identified themself as Luis told The Sun he saw an officer follow Portje, stand in front of the video journalist's camera, and then an officer without provocation proceeded to grab Portje's camera and inadvertently struck themself with it.

"The officer reacted to the camera hitting him," Luis told The Sun. "He started punching Jeremy."

The leader of a San Rafael-based group that promotes free speech expressed concerns that the police seizure of Portje's gear may have violated California's reporter's shield law, The San Francisco Chronicle reported.

First Amendment Coalition Executive Director David Snyder told the news outlet that his group is investigating the case.

"Those materials are sacrosanct under California law," Snyder said.

"When they're seized pursuant to arrest, that's really troubling."