This is one of the wilder cases my office has been involved in. Here’s the setup. A journalist with Knock LA, Ben Camacho, made a public records request for roster information on LAPD officers, including their headshot photographs. The City denied his request, he sued, and the City agreed to settle with him. It agreed to provide roster and photographs for all LAPD officers except undercover officers. And they gave him a flash drive with those files
Since they’re public records, Camacho shared them, including with the Stop LAPD Spying Coalition. The Coalition then used those records to create a searchable database of LAPD officers: Watch the Watchers.
The police union hit the roof. The called the City’s own release of public records a “leak.” It cried that every officer in on the force was in danger if they can’t operate as a secret police force. It claimed that every police officer is essentially undercover because they could get an undercover assignment in the future. And they sued the City demanding that the City file suit against Camacho and the Stop LAPD Spying Coalition to censor the website and destroy their copies of these public records.
The City then decided to carry the police union’s water. It brought suit against Camacho and the Coalition demanding they “return” the City’s “property” and destroy all copies of the records.
The problem is, these records are already everywhere.
My office, along with the Law Office of Shakeer Raham, represents the Coalition. This morning we succeeded in defeating the City’s request for a temporary restraining order against maintaining the website or further “transferring” the photographs. We also file an anti-SLAPP motion asking the Court to strike the entire lawsuit as one seeking to punish the Coalition for its critical speech and advocacy against the LAPD.
I would try to link the media that has covered this story, like I typically do, but there have simply been too many stories on this. I’ll update this site with any further developments.