Sheriff’s Deputies Seize TV Drug Videotape

PALM SPRINGS —  Videotape taken by a TV station invited to witness a drug raid by Riverside County Sheriff’s deputies was seized by authorities Wednesday against the station’s wishes, station officials said.

The footage taken by KESQ-TV Wednesday morning depicted about 20 officers storming a Palm Desert home, said station news director Richard Lerner. The raid, which resulted in the arrest of two men, was the culmination of an investigation into alleged methamphetamine manufacturing.

The station was one of two invited to send news crews in Sheriff’s Department vehicles to the early morning raid, and although officials from both stations said there was no prior agreement to give authorities copies of their tape, afterward both were asked to supply deputies with the raw footage.

The other station, KMIR-TV in Palm Desert, volunteered to provide a copy for authorities by Thursday, said news director Tina Stein.

But KESQ officials told deputies they didn’t want to comply, citing a journalism standard that equates raw video footage to a reporter’s notes, usually protected under shield laws, Lerner said.

Discussions with station officials and ABC network legal advisers in New York City resulted in a decision to oppose handing over the tape, he said.

After explaining the station’s position to deputies, authorities secured a search warrant, entered the station lobby and demanded the tape be turned over, he said. “They said I could either turn over the tape or they would take every tape in the building,” Lerner said. “So I really didn’t have any choice.”

Lerner was told the tape was considered evidence, but he said it contained nothing that could be used in court. The warrant, which gave no reason for the seizure, was signed by Indio Municipal Court Judge B. J. Bjork, Lerner said.

The station broadcast edited tape of the morning raid and footage of the deputies serving the search warrant at the station later that afternoon.

Lerner said he didn’t know what, if any, action the station would take.

During the raid, deputies reportedly fired concussion grenades into the Palm Desert house and were fired upon by a single shotgun blast as they stormed inside.

The raid resulted in the arrest of Thomas Steven Musbach, 34, and Patrick Washburn, 36, both of Palm Desert. They were booked for investigation of manufacturing drugs for sale, and Musbach was also booked for investigation of attempted murder of a police officer. They were being held on $1 million bail each.

Deputies seized weapons, chemicals and 400 pounds of methamphetamine with an estimated $1.5-million value.