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Trial date set in April Ehrlich's lawsuit against City of Medford

A Medford police officer's body-cam shows then Jefferson Public Radio reporter April Ehrlich being confronted as she tries to cover the sweep of a homeless camp in Sept. 2020.
Video Made Available By The Firm Of Kafoury & McDougal, Of Portland, Oregon.
A Medford police officer's body-cam shows then Jefferson Public Radio reporter April Ehrlich being confronted as she tries to cover the sweep of a homeless camp in Sept. 2020.

A trial date has been set for an Oregon Public Broadcasting reporter’s case against the City of Medford.

April Ehrlich was a reporter for Jefferson Public Radio in 2020, when she was prevented from covering a sweep of a homeless camp in a public park by Medford Police. She was arrested and charged, but all charges were dropped or dismissed ahead of her trial in 2022.

Now an OPB reporter, Ehrlich is taking Medford officials to court, with the trial scheduled for November 14th. Ehrlich says her arrest was a violation of her constitutional rights, and of free press itself.

“You hear different sides of different stories,” said Ehrlich, explaining the role of journalists in the field. “You have people who are saying ‘the police are doing X, Y, Z,’ and then you have the police saying ‘Well, no, we’re doing A, B, and C.’ And the only way to adequately know what is happening is to have a reporter, a journalist there, documenting these events and providing those facts to people.”

The City of Medford maintains it did nothing wrong and defends its closure of the park.

Ehrlich announced her suit in September. The case will go before U.S. District Court Judge Mark Clarke.

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Brian Bull is an assistant professor of journalism at the University of Oregon, and remains a contributor to the KLCC news department. He began working with KLCC in June 2016.   In his 27+ years as a public media journalist, he's worked at NPR, Twin Cities Public Television, South Dakota Public Broadcasting, Wisconsin Public Radio, and ideastream in Cleveland. His reporting has netted dozens of accolades, including four national Edward R. Murrow Awards (22 regional),  the Ohio Associated Press' Best Reporter Award, Best Radio Reporter from  the Native American Journalists Association, and the PRNDI/NEFE Award for Excellence in Consumer Finance Reporting.
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