The city of Los Angeles settled a lawsuit by agreeing to pay $300,000 in legal fees for freelance journalist Ben Camacho and the watchdog group Stop LAPD Spying Coalition. Many court watchers viewed the case as a matter of media freedom.
Last year, the city sued Camacho and the Stop LAPD Spying Coalition. The two parties published photos of undercover Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers, which triggered the lawsuit.
The city provided the photos to Camacho after a public records request. Camacho asked for information on LAPD officers, including photographs, names, ranks and badge numbers.
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The city handed over the requested information, including details for undercover officers. Camacho and the Stop LAPD Spying Coalition published the photos and identifying data on a website called “Watch the Watchers.” This searchable database allows viewers to look up LAPD officers using their names or badge numbers.
The Los Angeles city attorney then sued, attempting to retrieve the photos and have them taken down from the site. The city claimed that the photos revealed officers serving in sensitive roles and were released to Camacho accidentally.
Over 300 LAPD officers subsequently sued the city, citing that the released photos jeopardized their safety and that of their families.
Attorneys representing Camacho and the activists sought to have the case dismissed. In August, a judge allowed the city’s lawsuit to proceed, stating that the published photos could indeed threaten officers’ safety.
Media advocacy groups swiftly denounced the city’s lawsuit and filed friend-of-the-court briefs in support of Camacho and the activists.
Notably, in 1971, the Supreme Court ruled in the “Pentagon Papers” case that news outlets can publish classified information if they lawfully obtain it. This places the responsibility on the government, not journalists, when deciding what information should be made public.
The Los Angeles City Council must approve the $300,000 settlement.
