The 4th District Court of Appeals in San Diego has agreed to hear a case brought by a local journalist who was denied access to drone video collected by the Chula Vista Police Department (CVPD).
In 2021, Art Castañares, publisher of the Spanish language newspaper La Prensa San Diego, filed a request under the California Public Records Act for one month of CVPD drone footage. Castañares said the purpose of the request was to independently verify police officials’ assurances that they do not use the drones to spy on residents.
Chula Vista police denied Castañares’s request, claiming the data was investigative. Castañares sued in San Diego Superior Court. In April, Judge Timothy Taylor ruled in favor of Chula Vista.
The department’s use of drones has for years been a source of controversy. And, more broadly, the case has roots in other legal fights. Privacy advocates and others have clashed with law enforcement over the need to independently substantiate how police are using rapidly advancing surveillance technology, which also includes automated license plate readers and body cam footage.
Castañares said Taylor’s ruling was too sweeping, and believes that’s why the appellate court decided to hear the case.
“I think this is big,” he said. “I think one of the mistakes that Chula Vista has made is that they’re arguing way beyond just the videos. They’re arguing now about investigative records in general.”
If the appeals court upholds Judge Taylor’s ruling, it would severely restrict the public’s access to police records, Castañares said.
“It could include, not just drone video but a lot of other video and documents that the police say are investigative and that’s never been the standard,” he said.
Chula Vista city officials declined to comment.
In 2017, CVPD was the first in the nation to deploy drones to respond to 911 calls. It also uses drones to investigate crimes and traffic accidents, search for missing people, survey fires and natural disasters.
In 2019, the agency was the first in the country to receive a waiver from the Federal Aviation Administration to fly its drones beyond the visual line of sight.
More than 1,500 police departments across the country now use drones, according to the MIT Technology Review.
