L.A. Times photographer charged with misdemeanor after Nancy Reagan funeral motorcade

A Los Angeles Times photographer has been charged in connection with an arrest made while he was transmitting photographs of former First Lady Nancy Reagan’s funeral motorcade in Simi Valley.

Ricardo DeAratanha, 65, was charged with one misdemeanor count of resisting, obstructing or delaying a peace officer, according to a complaint filed Monday by the Ventura County district attorney’s office.

Brent Nibecker, a supervising deputy district attorney, declined to comment Tuesday on the details of the case. DeAratanha is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday.

NEWSLETTER: Get essential California headlines delivered daily >>

DeAratanha’s attorney, Mark Werksman, said he had not yet seen the police reports or any other evidence connected to the March 9 arrest. Werksman said his client has no criminal record and gave officers “no reason” to arrest him.

“I’m disappointed that it’s come this far,” Werksman said. “It’s hard to imagine any legal or factual basis for prosecution over this.”

DeAratanha was arrested about three-quarters of a mile downhill from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, where a public viewing was being held for the former first lady. Simi Valley police said officers responded to a report of a suspicious vehicle near Roosevelt Court and Wood Ranch Parkway. DeAratanha had parked by the side of the road to use his laptop to transmit his photos, using a tarp for shade so he could read his computer screen, his attorney said.

DeAratanha refused to identify himself to police and balked at providing identification, Deputy Chief David Livingstone previously told The Times. “Had he cooperated,” the deputy chief said, “ we would have had a different outcome.”

Werksman disputed the police account, saying his client was cooperative and showed the officers “indisputably legitimate” media credentials, including cards issued by The Times and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. The officers kept asking for more identification, Werksman said.

At some point, Werksman said, the photographer suggested officers were harassing him because of his ethnicity. DeAratanha is Brazilian.

“Within seconds,” Werksman said, three officers “swarmed him and pushed him to the ground.”

In his previous interview with The Times, Livingstone denied that race or ethnicity played a role in the incident, saying the officers responded to a report of suspicious activity at a “high-security event.” After DeAratanha was arrested, Livingstone said, he explained to officers that he was a photojournalist and was allowed to finish sending his images.

DeAratanha was then taken to a hospital, where he was treated for a sprained elbow.

Twitter: @katemather

ALSO

Former Orange County pastor accused of molesting two girls

Father shot gay son to cover up killing his wife, police say

Unarmed man shot in the head by LAPD files lawsuit alleging excessive force