PHOENIX — Phoenix has agreed to pay $100,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by a former Wall Street Journal reporter, who was handcuffed and illegally searched by a Phoenix police officer while working on a story.
The Phoenix City Council approved the settlement in a unanimous 9-0 vote, with no discussion. The vote was bundled with dozens of other agenda items.
The settlement closes a case that began on November 23, 2022, when Phoenix police Officer Caleb Zimmerman handcuffed and searched Dion Rabouin outside a Phoenix Chase Bank branch.
Rabouin was attempting to interview people about savings account interest rates but was unaware the sidewalk where he was standing was private property. At no point did the bank ask him to leave before police were called.
Ben Taylor, one of Rabouin's attorneys, said the settlement sends a message to the department.
"This case hopefully sets a tone for the Phoenix PD that they know now they can't infringe on a reporter's First Amendment rights to do their job," Taylor said.
Taylor said the confrontation was avoidable.
"The lawsuit would have been prevented with a simple conversation. But in the video, this officer had to be aggressive and put handcuffs on Dion, who's just doing his job as a reporter," Taylor said.
When asked whether the situation could have been resolved if the officer had simply paused to talk through what was happening, Taylor agreed.
"Yes, I mean in the video, he even threatens the witness who's filming," Taylor said.
Taylor added that the officer's conduct was the root cause of the legal action.
"So, this officer definitely here had some anger issues, and so if he had just calmed down and took a deep breath, this lawsuit would never have had to happen," Taylor said.
After the incident became public, Chase Bank and Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego both apologized to Rabouin.
The Phoenix Police Department did not discipline Zimmerman.
Instead, the department required him to complete a refresher training course.
ABC15 first broke the story and exposed video of the incident more than three years ago.
This digital article was produced with the assistance of AI and converted to this platform based on the broadcast story written and reported by ABC15 Chief Investigator Dave Biscobing (Dave@abc15.com). Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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