On May 21, 2013, plaintiff Stephen Eberhard, 67, retired and a volunteer photographer for The Willits News, a local newspaper, was escorted away from a dangerous construction operation by a California Highway Patrol officer. Two months later, on July 23, 2013, two other CHP officers arrested Eberhard for trespassing on the construction site during off hours. Eberhard had been taking photographs of several protests that were occurring at a California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) freeway construction project in Willits over the course of several months in 2013. However, he claimed that on May 21, 2013, and again on July 23, 2013, his First Amendment rights were violated. Eberhard sued California Highway Patrol Officers Teddy Babcock, Chris Dabbs and Kory Reynolds; the patrol officers’ supervisor, Captain James Epperson; Patrol Chief Bridget Lott; the officers’ employer, the California Highway Patrol; Caltrans District 1 Director Charlie Fielder; and Fielder’s employer, the California Department of Transportation. Eberhard alleged that Babcock, Dabbs and Reynolds violated his First Amendment rights to be at the construction site and that Epperson and the CHP were liable for the patrol officers’ actions. He also alleged Lott and Fielder co-signed a letter to an editor explaining the reasons for Eberhard’s arrest and that this constituted constitutional defamation. Thus, he alleged that Caltrans was liable for his false arrest and for Fielder’s actions. In addition, Eberhard alleged that Dabbs and Reynolds unlawfully arrested him in violation of his Fourth Amendment rights. Defense counsel moved to dismiss the claims against Lott and Fielder, and the motions were granted. The claim against Epperson was also dismissed on summary judgment. In addition, the Fourth Amendment claims of unlawful arrest against Dabbs and Reynolds were dismissed on qualified immunity grounds. Once the Fourth Amendment claims against the officers were dismissed, plaintiff’s counsel agreed to dismiss Caltrans because the only claim that had remained against it was for false arrest. Thus, the only claims remaining for trial were the First Amendment claims (and accompanying Bane Act claims) against Dabbs, Reynolds and Babcock. Eberhard claimed that on May 21, 2013, one officer repeatedly shoved him while he was attempting to take a photograph while on the construction site with a Caltrans escort and then forcibly escorted him away from the site. He also claimed that on July 23, 2013, he was arrested for trespassing during off hours within minutes of entering the construction zone and that he was sent to county jail while protesters on site were cited and released. Eberhard claimed that the two incidents were in retaliation for his role as a photographer in chronicling CHP enforcement actions against protesters and were in violation of the First Amendment. Defense counsel argued that Eberhard was only forcibly escorted away from the site on May 21, 2013, when Eberhard refused orders to leave the dangerous construction operation. Counsel also argued that, during both incidents, the officers were motivated solely by the fact that Eberhard was entering construction areas closed to the public and without authorization. Defense counsel also played for the jury videotaped excerpts of Eberhard’s deposition, in which Eberhard testified that he had been threatened with arrest 15 to 20 times while trying to cover protest activities on or near the construction site., Eberhard claimed that he felt claustrophobic in the back of the patrol car. He also claimed that his arrest humiliated and shamed him, resulting in depression and sleeplessness. He further claimed damage to his reputation based on a few uncomplimentary comments made about him on Facebook, which ultimately were not admitted at trial. Defense counsel disputed Eberhard’s alleged and damages, noting that Eberhard sought no treatment for his alleged symptoms of depression, sleeplessness and claustrophobia. Counsel also noted that Eberhard continued to photograph events at the Willits Bypass construction site and that, in 2015, the Society of Professional Journalists gave him an award for his photography at that site.