A journalist arrested and charged at a tense scene in Waterdown has a court date June 15, but he's hoping the case won't make it any further.

Dave Ritchie, a Burlington freelance videographer whose work appears in numerous media outlets, was arrested and charged with obstructing a peace officer and resisting arrest at the scene of a pedestrian death on May 16.

The case drew widespread attention, including concerns from the Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE) that it hampered press freedom.

Jeremy Cohn, a Global TV videographer, was arrested but not charged.

Ritchie says his lawyer, Harry Black of Toronto, is fighting to have the charges against him dropped, and he's hopeful.

Video shows one of two cameramen who were arrested at the scene where a young girl died in Hamilton in 2017. 1:23

"I'm confident they will be because I did nothing wrong," he said.

For nine years, Ritchie has regularly attended scenes of collisions, fires and other news incidents and sells the footage to media outlets, including CBC News.

'I am reviewing this incident'

He attended a scene in Waterdown around 6:45 p.m. where a vehicle had hit and killed 10-year-old Jasmin Hanif. It was emotional for everyone, Ritchie said, and tensions were high.

If <a href="https://twitter.com/Media371">@Media371</a> needs a character reference all he has to do is ask. I'll be there. —@CWFireChief

Ritchie said he arrived before police had set up yellow tape, and was standing with other media and bystanders when the officer approached him and told him people in the media were scum bags.

Ritchie won't elaborate on the exchange, citing the pending court date, but the officer handcuffed Ritchie and put him in a cruiser. Ritchie said he required minor medical attention.

Hamilton police won't elaborate either. The departmental press release on the charges said only there had been "interactions" between an officer and the journalists. In the statement issued a day after the incident, Chief Eric Girt said he would review the incident, but he couldn't comment further because the matter is before the courts.

"As chief of police, I take the arrest of any member of the media seriously," he said. "As a result, I am reviewing this incident in the context of what transpired yesterday."

As for Ritchie, he said the experience has been "traumatizing, to be honest."

'We have a job to do. They have a job to do.'

As a rule, he said, he stays outside the tape and doesn't interfere with first responders. He insists that day was no different.

"We have a job to do," he said. "They have a job to do. You stay outside the tape with the citizens and the public."

The CJFE is calling for a public inquiry, and wrote to Girt, said Duncan Pike, campaigns and advocacy co-ordinator.

"We'd like to see the charges dropped," he said, "and we'd like to see an investigation into the series of events."

"There have been a number of cases, especially in the past year and a half, where journalists and law enforcement have come into conflict and law enforcement simply not understanding the importance of what journalists are doing."

samantha.craggs@cbc.ca | @SamCraggsCBC