{"id":73340,"date":"2025-11-28T16:31:10","date_gmt":"2025-11-28T16:31:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/73340\/"},"modified":"2025-11-28T16:31:10","modified_gmt":"2025-11-28T16:31:10","slug":"oakland-cops-toss-student-journalist-from-news-conference-about-john-beams-death-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/73340\/","title":{"rendered":"Oakland cops toss student journalist from news conference about John Beam’s death"},"content":{"rendered":"

OAKLAND \u2013 With a camera slung across her shoulders and a notepad in hand, student journalist Nelzy Gonzalez-Zaragoza was ready to cover a police press conference about the devastating tragedy that had just struck Laney College.<\/p>\n

But moments before the Nov. 14 media event began, the Oakland Police Department barred the Peralta Citizen reporter from entering, a remarkable blockade against a college newspaper covering a national story about beloved Laney coach John Beam, who was fatally shot on campus a day earlier<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The reason? The Citizen reporter \u2014 an associate editor \u2014 had not first obtained a police-issued press credential.<\/p>\n

The \u201cmandatory\u201d requirement has been a thorny issue among reporters covering the department since it was first enforced three years ago, with some bristling at the idea that the OPD can decide who can or can\u2019t access press conferences on topics of community interest.<\/p>\n

But it has not faced unified opposition until now. Hours after Gonzalez-Zaragoza\u2019s removal, First Amendment lawyers and advocates fired off a letter to police officials and Mayor Barbara Lee, saying the practice \u201cinterferes with the ability of the press to keep the public informed, threatens press independence and hurts the community\u2019s ability to get news from a diverse range of sources.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a high-profile case, but I felt comfortable going in there \u2026 it\u2019s not fair that any reporter was kicked out,\u201d Gonzalez-Zaragoza, who grew up in Oakland, later said.<\/p>\n

She was not alone. Journalists on assignment for The Oaklandside and the San Francisco Chronicle were also not allowed inside and a photographer with the Bay Area News Group as well as another Citizen reporter were \u201conly permitted to attend after agreeing on the spot to apply for an OPD press credential,\u201d according to the letter<\/a> from the First Amendment Coalition, Pacific Workers Media Guild and the Society of Professional Journalists of Northern California.<\/p>\n

While Oakland police officials<\/a> maintain the press passes are meant to ensure safety for all, the organizations said \u201cthere were no security threats, space limitations or other lawful justification to exclude or erect barriers to access.\u201d<\/p>\n

They are calling for an \u201cimmediate\u201d end to the policy, which stands in contrast to media events at Oakland City Hall and the Alameda County District Attorney\u2019s Office, where no such requirement currently exists.<\/p>\n

\u201cOPD interfered with journalists\u2019 ability to do their jobs for no reason,\u201d the letter read. \u201cThis policy and today\u2019s actions serve no one. Newsrooms must have the ability to send any journalist they choose to cover the news, and must not be limited to sending only those who have chosen to apply for and been granted a particular government credential.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"OaklandOakland police Assistant Chief James Beere, who has been appointed as the interim Oakland Police Chief, speaks during a press conference on Friday, Nov. 14, 2025, in Oakland, Calif. (Dai Sugano\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0<\/p>\n

It appears OPD is not budging. In a letter responding to the press groups, Assistant Chief James Beere said the department \u201cmade efforts to expedite several applications immediately before the recent news conference for those already holding credentials from other media organizations.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cKnowing the identity\u201d of journalists \u201caccessing non-public areas within the Police Administration Building is vital for everyone\u2019s safety,\u201d he wrote, before encouraging \u201call media professionals to complete the credential application process.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Oakland Police Department\u2019s media credential policy is a necessary security measure, not an infringement on First Amendment rights,\u201d wrote Beere, who earlier this month was named interim police chief.<\/p>\n

\u201cDue to national and local incidents involving threats and harm to public figures, the policy was implemented to ensure the safety of our staff, presenters, and all attendees.\u201d Through a spokesman, Mayor Lee declined to comment and referred back to OPD and Beere\u2019s letter.<\/p>\n

Ginny LaRoe, of the First Amendment Coalition, said the groups \u201care deeply disappointed by OPD\u2019s response and hope it will reconsider.\u201d<\/p>\n

Media members with company-issued credentials had little trouble accessing press briefings inside OPD until December 2022, when department spokesman Paul Chambers sent a blanket email warning of the new policy. At the time, Chambers, a former KTVU reporter, said there wasn\u2019t an existing safety issue that prompted the change.<\/p>\n

The credential form, which requires each person to have their picture taken by an OPD employee, asks for information about their sex, hair and eye color, height, date of birth and home address. It warns the\u00a0credential could be revoked if a journalist had been arrested for \u201cvagrancy, or interfering or otherwise impeding the activities of law enforcement officers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"OaklandOakland police investigate a fatal shooting at Laney College in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday, April 13, 2025. Legendary football coach and Laney College Athletic Director John Beam was shot and killed. (Jane Tyska\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0<\/p>\n

At the time of the Nov. 14 press conference, Gonzalez-Zaragoza and her fellow Citizen reporters had barely caught their breath.<\/p>\n

Less than 24 hours earlier, athletics director John Beam was shot inside the Laney College Field House, a short walk from the Citizen newsroom. The student reporters went to work right away \u2014 even those stuck in classrooms, with the downtown campus on lockdown.<\/p>\n

They posted breaking news updates<\/a>, sketching out how to cover a massive story on their campus and filing public records requests in anticipation of a story they\u2019d follow for days, if not weeks and months. Beam had become a national icon in Netflix\u2019s \u201cLast Chance U\u201d \u2014 and in a grieving town, the students were determined to get to the bottom of his killing.<\/p>\n

Part of that meant attending press conferences, a new terrain for many of the Citizen students just entering the news industry but equipped with deep knowledge and context of the Peralta Community College District. Many of them had known Beam, interviewed him or questioned his authority as the college\u2019s athletic director in investigative stories.<\/p>\n

But because Gonzalez-Zaragoza didn\u2019t have an OPD-issued press pass or a Citizen credential on hand, Chambers walked her out of a ninth floor conference room where the press briefing was to be held, and escorted her down an elevator to the lobby of police headquarters. Another Citizen reporter, Ivan Saravia, was allowed to stay after filling out a credential form on the spot.<\/p>\n

Chambers declined to comment beyond the letter Beere sent.<\/p>\n

Police commanders then gave significant updates confirming that Beam was declared dead two hours earlier and that the gunman \u2013 identified as 27-year-old Cedric Irving Jr. \u2013 was in custody.<\/p>\n

To Eleni Gastis, the faculty advisor of The Citizen, it looked as though her students were treated differently, despite having the same rights as \u201cprofessional\u201d journalists.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t just a no,\u201d said Gastis, who accompanied Gonzalez-Zaragoza and Saravia to OPD. \u201cThe students were escorted down. I didn\u2019t see (Chambers) do that to anyone else. It was intended to be shameful and obstructive of the coverage of their campus \u2013 and they are the true experts on their beat.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"OAKLAND \u2013 With a camera slung across her shoulders and a notepad in hand, student journalist Nelzy Gonzalez-Zaragoza…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":73341,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[389,184,7,8,138,8520,332,33091,181,23,100,143,145,144],"class_list":{"0":"post-73340","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-oakland","8":"tag-alameda-county","9":"tag-bay-area","10":"tag-california","11":"tag-california-news","12":"tag-crime-and-public-safety","13":"tag-downtown-oakland","14":"tag-east-bay","15":"tag-john-beam","16":"tag-latest-headlines","17":"tag-local-news","18":"tag-news","19":"tag-oakland","20":"tag-oakland-headlines","21":"tag-oakland-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73340","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73340"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73340\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/73341"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73340"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=73340"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=73340"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}