The First Amendment Clinic at Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of law sued the city of Yuma and Officer James Baisch of the Yuma Police Department last month on behalf of independent journalist Lucas Mullikin, who was arrested in May 2023 while peacefully filming Yuma officers.
In May of 2023, Mullikin was driving through Yuma when he stopped to record a Yuma Police Department officer struggling to arrest a homeless man on a sidewalk. Mullikin was ordered to “get back” from the scene of the arrest and then was forced back and pushed to the ground. After Mullikin stood up and asked Officer Baisch for his badge number, Officer Baisch arrested Mullikin for failing to obey a lawful order and resisting arrest.
Mullikin’s lawsuit, filed February 25, 2025, accuses Yuma and Officer Baisch of retaliating against Mullikin for filming officers, using excessive force, and arresting him unlawfully. Mullikin is seeking unspecified damages and an injunction restraining the Yuma Police Department from maintaining its currently inadequate policies, training and supervision.
