Crime & Safety
City Can Sue Journalist For Publication Of Undercover Officer Photos
A judge handed a victory to the city in its bid to sue a reporter after the identities of undercover LAPD officers were published.
LOS ANGELES, CA — The city of Los Angeles won a round in court when a judge ruled that its lawsuit against a journalist regarding his involvement in the publication of photographs of undercover LAPD officers can move forward.
Attorneys for Ben Camacho, a reporter for Knock LA, had asked Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Anthony Mohr to dismiss the suit on First Amendment grounds citing the state's anti-SLAPP law, which is intended to prevent people from using courts, and potential threats of a lawsuit, to intimidate those who are exercising their First Amendment rights.
But Mohr, who heard arguments July 13 and took the issues under submission, ruled Wednesday that while the city's evidence could be stronger, he noted the declaration of an LAPD commander defining an undercover officer. To publicize who such officers were and what they are doing could endanger their lives and perhaps the lives of others, the judge concluded.
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"Specifically, there are occasions where an officer's work and duties require anonymity," the judge wrote. "City has identified such a situation, protection of officers who operate undercover."
The law states that in some limited circumstances, the government interest in preserving that anonymity justifies withholding information from public distribution, according to Mohr.
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Last September, the city gave Camacho the official photographs, names and serial numbers for more than 9,000 Los Angeles Police Department officers to settle his California Public Records Act lawsuit and also presented him a letter saying that the records did not include any officers working undercover, according to the motion.
In March, the Los Angeles Times published an article reporting that Camacho obtained the photographs and that they were published online by the Stop LAPD Spying Coalition. The city then filed the lawsuit against Camacho and the coalition.
The release of the photos, particularly of undercover officers, led to an uproar in the department and prompted an apology from Chief Michel Moore. Mayor Karen Bass has also decried the release of information about undercover officers.
City News Service
