PHOENIX — Katelyn Parady’s cell phone video has gained international attention.
Despite a Phoenix police officer’s threat of arrest, she continued to record as he handcuffed and detained a Wall Street Journal reporter, who was trying to interview people outside a bank.
“It just happened so fast that the officer placed [the reporter] in handcuffs,” Parady said in an interview with ABC15. “It was really apparent to me that it was unnecessary and really upsetting, considering he was a reporter just doing his job.”
RELATED: Phoenix PD handcuffed, detained Wall Street Journal reporter
Her footage captured the detainment of Journal reporter Dion Rabouin at a Chase Bank branch in northern Phoenix.
Since ABC15 aired Parady’s video, the incident and response from the Phoenix Police Department have grabbed headlines in major publications and received widespread condemnation from First Amendment and journalism organizations.
It’s why the situation hit close to home for her.
“My husband’s a journalist. He’s also white, as am I. And in that moment, I just knew he wouldn’t be in handcuffs if things had gone the same way,” she said. “And it doesn’t really matter to me that he was a journalist. No one should have been cuffed with that kind of speed when there was no problem.”
[Parady’s husband is not an employee of ABC15 or the Wall Street Journal.]
On November 23, Parady said she went to the bank to deposit a check for her child’s school parent-teacher organization.
Rabouin approached her outside on the sidewalk by the building as she was walking in.
“As I walked in, Dion, I didn’t know him at the time, he identified himself as a reporter with the Wall Street Journal and asked me if I would be interested in participating in a story,” Parady said. “I asked him a little more about the story. I told him I didn’t want to participate. We had a perfectly cordial nice interaction, and I went inside.”
The officer knew Rabouin had identified himself as a reporter before handcuffing him, records show.
In Officer Caleb Zimmerman’s incident report, he wrote a bank employee named “Brenda” wanted the journalist trespassed.
“BRENDA STATED BANK STAFF APPROACHED DION AND TOLD HIM HE WAS MAKING PEOPLE UNCOMFORTABLE AND ASKED HIM TO LEAVE. DION REFUSED TO LEAVE AND TOLD BRENDA HE WAS A REPORTER,” according to the incident report. [Phoenix incident reports are formatted in all capital letters.]
Rabouin told ABC15 he was never asked to leave by bank employees and that he clearly identified himself as a reporter to the officer.
The officer walked outside to speak to Rabouin before Parady left the bank. She didn't see the beginning of their interaction.
Her video begins as Zimmerman is placing the reporter in handcuffs.
While recording, Zimmerman threatened to arrest Parady if she didn’t back onto a sidewalk.
She stood her ground.
“In that moment, like most people, I wasn’t very clear on what my rights actually were. But I knew it was important to record what was happening regardless,” she said.
When a backup officer arrived, she was also provided false information by police, saying she had to stay eight feet back. The distance was the unconstitutional standard from a now-defunct state law.
“It was intimidating and it was also effective because I backed up,” she said. “And I couldn’t get as clear of audio or hear what was going on.”
The city has not released body camera video in response to a public records request made earlier this week.
In Phoenix’s first public statement about the incident, the department wrote Rabouin was on a private sidewalk and the matter is under an internal investigation that began on November 28, 2022.
That contradicts what department officials told both Rabouin and Parady, who filed separate complaints and were told it was closed with no wrongdoing.
“I called the [Public Standards Bureau],” she said. “They called me back. Told me the investigation was closed. They found no wrongdoing. And the officer had probable cause to arrest Dion legally.”
Parady said that call came on December 9, 2022.
When asked about the discrepancy, a department spokesperson wrote, “The administrative process began on November 28, 2022. The investigation remains open and was never closed.”
The Wall Street Journal’s top editor, Matt Murray, also sent the Phoenix Police Department a letter demanding an investigation on December 7.
Earlier this week, the Journal told ABC15 they had not received a response from Phoenix other than an initial acknowledgment that they received the letter.
The Phoenix Police Department is under a Department of Justice pattern or practice investigation. A primary focus is centered on violations of people’s First Amendment rights.
In 2021, ABC15’s “Politically Charged” series irrefutably proved that Phoenix colluded with county prosecutors to invent a gang and falsely charge protesters as members.
In response to Rabouin’s detainment, First Amendment and journalism organizations have released statements that demand Phoenix protect press freedom.
“We are deeply concerned by the Phoenix Police Department’s treatment of Wall Street Journal reporter Dion Rabouin. Detaining and handcuffing a journalist—who was gathering news in a public place—is a flagrant violation of his First Amendment rights,” said Katherine Jacobsen, the U.S. and Canada Program Coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists. “The police department should conduct a thorough investigation into Rabouin’s treatment, and undertake reforms to make sure this kind of incident is not repeated.”
Contact ABC15 Chief Investigator Dave Biscobing at Dave@ABC15.com.
