L.A. Times, Sacramento Bee sue for officers’ names in UC Davis pepper-spray case
Source: L.A. Times
The Los Angeles Times and Sacramento Bee filed suit Wednesday against the University of California Board of Regents demanding the release of officers’ names removed from a critical report on the controversial pepper-spraying of UC Davis students.
The lawsuit, filed in Sacramento County Superior Court, contends that when university officials agreed in a court settlement last month to redact all but two names they “failed to represent the interests of the press and public,” leaving the newspapers with “no choice but to bring this petition to protect the public’s right of access to this important information.”
The use of pepper spray by UC Davis police against students opposing tuition hikes last November triggered international outrage when videos of Lt. John Pike casually dousing seated protesters went viral. It also prompted soul-searching by university officials, who convened a task force headed by retired state Supreme Court Justice Cruz Reynoso to analyze the incident.
Wednesday’s litigation is the latest tussle over transparency in the matter. Earlier this year, the Federated University Police Officers Assn. sought to block public release of much of the Reynoso report and an accompanying probe by the Kroll consulting firm, contending that the information was equivalent to protected “personnel” material.
Read more: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/05/la-times-sacramento-bee-sue-for-officers-names-in-davis-pepper-spray-case.html