Alejandro Patrón, widely known as the “Urban Reporter,” was restrained by officers while documenting a deadly incident in a residential neighborhood.
LA PAZ, Mexico — A well-known local journalist in the Baja California Sur capital was briefly detained by municipal police on Tuesday afternoon while reporting on a fatal traffic incident, an episode that has sparked renewed criticism over the treatment of the press by local authorities.
Alejandro Patrón Álvarez, popularly known as the “Urban Reporter,” was covering the aftermath of a crash at the intersection of Ayuntamiento and Salvatierra streets in the Lázaro Cárdenas neighborhood when officers intervened. According to eyewitness accounts and the journalist’s own testimony, Patrón was restrained by police despite identifying himself as a member of the press and attempting to comply with instructions at the scene.
The incident occurred after an elderly driver of a pickup truck suffered an apparent cardiac arrest, lost control of the vehicle and collided head-on with another car. Emergency responders arrived quickly, but the driver was pronounced dead at the scene, prompting authorities to cordon off the area to conduct official procedures.
As police expanded the secured perimeter, Patrón approached along the edge of the street to document the scene. He says he inadvertently crossed into a secondary restricted zone, at which point officers detained him. Video and photographs from the scene show an officer holding him by the arm while another applied a chokehold-style restraint. After a heated exchange, Patrón was released without charges.
In a phone interview later that day, Patrón said the officers involved were individuals with whom he has had prior run-ins related to his crime and public safety reporting. He described the use of force as excessive and unnecessary, arguing that it crossed the line from crowd control into intimidation.
Patrón called on La Paz Mayor Milena Quiroga Romero to intervene and rein in what he described as recurring abuses by municipal police, warning that such actions threaten freedom of the press and the public’s right to know.
Press advocates note that while police are entitled to secure emergency scenes, journalists have a protected role in documenting events of public interest. The brief detention has reignited debate in La Paz over how law enforcement balances public safety with civil liberties — and whether reporters are being unfairly targeted for doing their jobs.
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