Long Beach Police Officers Assn. v. City of Long Beach

Dissenting. — I disagree with the majority’s conclusion that the City of Long Beach (the City) and the Long Beach Police Officers Association (the Union) have failed to show that the information Los Angeles Times Communications LLC (the Times) has requested — the names of the officers “involved in” the December 12, 2010, shooting of Douglas Zerby and the names of all police officers “involved in” shootings from January 1, 2005, until December 11, 2010 — is exempt from disclosure under the California Public Records Act (CPRA) (Gov. Code, § 6250 et seq.). 1 In my view, the evidence in the record of the safety threat faced by police officers identified as having been involved in a shooting establishes that the requested information is exempt from disclosure under section 6254, subdivision (c), which provides that the CPRA does not require disclosure of “[pjersonnel, medical, or similar files, the disclosure of which would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.” I therefore dissent.

In relying on this section, the Union acknowledges that the majority in Commission on Peace Officer Standards & Training v. Superior Court (2007) 42 Cal.4th 278 [ 64 Cal.Rptr.3d 661 , 165…

*64 Opinion

A newspaper asked a city to release the names of police officers involved in certain shootings while on duty. The police union then sought injunctive relief against the city in superior court, attempting to prevent release of the names. The newspaper intervened (seeking disclosure of the names), and the city then aligned itself with the union (opposing disclosure). The trial court denied the union’s request for a permanent injunction; that denial was upheld on appeal. We granted the separate petitions for review filed by the city and the union. We now affirm the judgment of the Court of Appeal.

I

Shortly before 5:00 p.m., on December 12, 2010, two City of Long Beach police officers responded to a resident’s telephone call about an intoxicated man brandishing a “six-shooter” on neighboring property. At the sight of the two officers, the man (35-year-old Douglas Zerby) pointed at them an object resembling a gun. The officers immediately fired multiple rounds at Zerby, killing him. It turned out that the object Zerby was holding was a garden hose spray nozzle with a pistol grip.

Three days later, reporter Richard Winton of Los Angeles Times Communications LLC (the…

Filed 5/29/14

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF CALIFORNIA

LONG BEACH POLICE OFFICERS )

ASSOCIATION, )

) Plaintiff and Appellant, ) ) v. ) ) S200872 CITY OF LONG BEACH et al., ) ) Ct.App. 2/2 B231245 Defendants and Appellants; ) ) Los Angeles County LOS ANGELES TIMES ) Super. Ct. No. NC055491

COMMUNICATIONS LLC, )

) Real Party in Interest and ) Respondent. ) ____________________________________)

A newspaper asked a city to release the names of police officers involved in certain shootings while on duty. The police union then sought injunctive relief against the city in superior court, attempting to prevent release of the names. The newspaper intervened (seeking disclosure of the names), and the city then aligned itself with the union (opposing disclosure). The trial court denied the union‘s request for a permanent injunction; that denial was upheld on appeal. We granted the separate petitions for review filed by the city and the union. We now affirm the judgment of the Court of…