California’s top court rejects latest Chula Vista appeal over release of police drone video
Posted: Sat Aug 23, 2025 3:17 pm
California’s top court rejects latest Chula Vista appeal over release of police drone video
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/20 ... one-video/
The California Supreme Court has declined to take up the latest appeal by the city of Chula Vista over the long-running litigation over the public release of drone video collected by police.
All that’s left to litigate is how much the city will pay the plaintiff’s lawyers.
The determination by the state’s highest court all but puts to rest a lawsuit filed four years ago by Arturo Castañares, the La Prensa San Diego publisher who sought access to Chula Vista police drone images under the California Public Records Act.
Castañares called the decision a win for public transparency.
“It’s a shame that the city and police chief chose to spend four years and over $1 million in legal fees for appeals simply to keep the public from accessing some of these videos instead of just showing how they use this technology,” he said.
“The legal precedent set in this case now gives the public and media more access to documents — not just drone videos — that police have shielded from disclosure by broadly categorizing them as investigative when they’re clearly not,” Castañares added.
Chula Vista officials said the legal fight was not one they welcomed, but they were trying to protect the privacy rights of everyday citizens.
“The outcome of the lawsuit substantially reduced the amount of video the city must disclose, thereby striking a better balance of the cost and burden to the city while protecting the privacy of its residents,” spokesperson Mirella Leung Lopez said in a statement.
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Chula Vista Police Department must release drone footage, courts rule
https://www.cbs8.com/article/news/local ... c333582dc0
https://www.cbs8.com/video/news/local/c ... e0e866d53a
Court rules California police must release drone footage not related to investigations
A California Supreme Court ruling bars police departments from issuing blanket rejections of public records requests seeking drone footage.
https://statescoop.com/california-supre ... ice-drone/
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/20 ... one-video/
The California Supreme Court has declined to take up the latest appeal by the city of Chula Vista over the long-running litigation over the public release of drone video collected by police.
All that’s left to litigate is how much the city will pay the plaintiff’s lawyers.
The determination by the state’s highest court all but puts to rest a lawsuit filed four years ago by Arturo Castañares, the La Prensa San Diego publisher who sought access to Chula Vista police drone images under the California Public Records Act.
Castañares called the decision a win for public transparency.
“It’s a shame that the city and police chief chose to spend four years and over $1 million in legal fees for appeals simply to keep the public from accessing some of these videos instead of just showing how they use this technology,” he said.
“The legal precedent set in this case now gives the public and media more access to documents — not just drone videos — that police have shielded from disclosure by broadly categorizing them as investigative when they’re clearly not,” Castañares added.
Chula Vista officials said the legal fight was not one they welcomed, but they were trying to protect the privacy rights of everyday citizens.
“The outcome of the lawsuit substantially reduced the amount of video the city must disclose, thereby striking a better balance of the cost and burden to the city while protecting the privacy of its residents,” spokesperson Mirella Leung Lopez said in a statement.
—————————————————
Chula Vista Police Department must release drone footage, courts rule
https://www.cbs8.com/article/news/local ... c333582dc0
https://www.cbs8.com/video/news/local/c ... e0e866d53a
Court rules California police must release drone footage not related to investigations
A California Supreme Court ruling bars police departments from issuing blanket rejections of public records requests seeking drone footage.
https://statescoop.com/california-supre ... ice-drone/