A legal battle to review Chula Vista PD drone footage

Good Morning, I’m Debbie Cruz….it’s Wednesday, June 28th.

A legal fight to view the Chula Vista P-D’s drone footage.

More on that next. But first... let’s do the headlines….

######

The San Diego city council voted 5 to 4 yesterday to give final approval to a ban on homeless encampments.

It will make it illegal to camp in the city, if shelter beds are available.

And regardless of shelter availability, it will make it illegal to camp near schools, parks, transit hubs and along waterways.

The ordinance now heads to the mayor’s desk for signature and is expected to go into effect within the next few months.

########

The County Board of Supervisors yesterday voted to declare a local state of emergency over the sewage from Tijuana polluting the county’s beaches.

The county is asking the state and federal government to also issue emergency declarations to speed up the response to the problem and to access to more resources to address it.

Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer says the declaration also puts pressure on the Mexican government to expedite repairs on the other side of the border.

########

San Diego County officially has a new budget for the 20-23-20-24 fiscal year.

It includes increases in spending on mental and behavioral health services, such as expanding the county’s mobile crisis response teams.

Here’s Board of supervisors chair Nora Vargas on how the budget will address the region’s homelessness crisis.

“Our budget is committed to making sure that $25 million is going to help us build more affordable housing through the innovative housing trust fund and 5.8 million to the homeless trust fund for families experiencing homelessness.”

The budget passed unanimously.

#########

A local newspaper and the Chula Vista Police Department are in a legal fight about reviewing drone video footage.

“This is about how police agencies across the country want to use new technology for surveillance, and they don't want to show the public how they're using it.” 

More on that story, coming up, after the break.

##########

The ongoing push and pull over what the public can know about data picked up by police surveillance tools is playing out in local courts.

Any day now, a state appeals court will decide whether to hear a case about a fight to review the Chula Vista Police Department’s drone footage.

Investigative reporter Amita Sharma has more.

Each day, Chula Vista police officers deploy drones, like this one, to respond to 9-1-1 calls, investigate crimes, search for missing people, among other tasks. The agency’s police chief Roxana Kennedy elaborates in a department video on how vital she believes the drones’ high-powered camera are to law enforcement. “Drones provide invaluable information to officers, sharing with them a visual into what is actually occurring. It makes all the difference to officers, dispatchers and supervisors making split-second decisions.” In a nod to privacy rights, Chula Vista police say on their website that their rules bar using drones for surveillance or general patrol. Art Castanares is publisher of the Latino newspaper La Prensa San Diego. He wants to corroborate on his own whether that’s true, whether police are…. “....hovering over somebody's house, looking into a backyard.“ He says he is all for Chula Vista police using drones, and he trusts officers are not spying on residents. Nonetheless…. “.... Trust but verify. All we're trying to do is to confirm how these are being used, that they're following the procedures.” Two years ago, Castanares filed a California Public Records Act request. He asked Chula Vista police to turn over footage from all drone flights for the month of March 2021. The department refused, claiming the footage was investigative and therefore exempt from disclosure. Castanares sued. In April, a San Diego County Superior Court judge sided with Chula Vista police. The department declined an interview with KPBS, citing litigation. Castanares has asked the 4th District Court of Appeal to hear the case. A decision is pending. Despite the lower court loss, Castanares argues the law is on his side. “There's no difference in the fact that the video is strapped to a drone than if it was a body cam worn by a police officer. These have all been ruled to be disclosable.” Brian Hofer runs the Oakland-based Secure Justice, which advocates for reigning in surveillance technology.  He says the San Diego judge’s ruling that Chula Vista police need not turn over the drone footage to Castanares because it is investigative, if unchallenged, could lead to a dystopian future. Hofer contends the court’s decision, in effect, says the video can’t be released in case a future crime arises. And that makes us all suspects. “....Obviously, our country was founded on the exact opposite principle of innocence until proven guilty that you cannot surveil us if there's no reasonable suspicion or probable cause and collect such data.” Hofer says the ruling also forces the public to accept Chula Vista police at their word...that the drone footage is investigative, without independent verification. He argues the impact of that is huge. “....Then transparency into policing is dead. It's dead on arrival. And all the hard work of reform efforts, it's going to die on the vine because you're not going to have the information that you need to suggest policy changes or to hold people accountable.” Albert Fox Cahn is executive director of the New York-based Surveillance Technology Oversight Project. He agrees with Hofer. But he also worries about privacy interests if the Chula Vista police drone video is made public.  “.... I do think that there is a very real risk that when we allow this drone footage to become even more accessible, that it will become a threat to the public, not an accountability tool.” 00;06;22;22 “....The idea that a police department could fly a drone over my backyard and then anyone who wanted to could get that footage. That, to me, is a concerning situation. “ Hofer says tools exist to aggregate and obfuscate granular information in videos to protect privacy interests. Meanwhile, Art Castanares, says the point of his lawsuit against Chula Vista police, extends beyond the city’s borders. “This is about how police agencies across the country want to use new technology for surveillance, and they don't want to show the public how they're using it.” More than 5,000 public safety agencies use drones, according to Droneresponders - dot - org. About two-thirds are law enforcement departments. Amita Sharma, KPBS News.

##########

We’re seeing an increase in the number of hate crimes reported across the state.

Reporter Katie Hyson looked at what changed last year.

Reported hate crimes rose twenty percent last year in California, to more than two thousand. They were more likely to result in conviction, even if on lesser charges. They range from property crimes like vandalism to violent crimes like assault and murder. By far the largest share of these were racially motivated against Black people. Though reported Anti-Asian hate crimes fell by almost half last year, they’re still at record highs not seen before COVID. Attorney General Rob Bonta says the data are not surprising. The 2022 California Hate Crime Data Report shows us statistically what we already . . .  know to be true from our lived experience. Bonta connected the slew of anti-trans legislation across the country to the doubling of anti-trans and gender-non-conforming hate crimes in California. We’re seeing action and data that follows the rhetoric. Reports likely represent a small portion of committed crimes, and some groups may report at higher rates than others. A rise in reported hate crimes might also show that more people are able and willing to report. Katie Hyson, KPBS News.

##########

Coming up.... A local e-sports program is creating a community around gaming, for kids and teens.. We’ll have that story and more, just after the break.

##########

Cybersecurity is the focus of a summer camp this week, for high school students from across the county.

Education reporter M.G. Perez has that story.

The curriculum includes extensive programs and protection strategies to keep cyber criminals from stealing personal data. A couple of dozen high school students are at the University of San Diego, this week…for the CyberPrep summer camp. 17-year old Johnathan Yarkoni will be a senior this fall at the Jacobs High Tech High. He also wants to be a mechanical engineer some day. “I’m not interested in giving out anymore of my personal information to data brokers than I absolutely need to. But there’s only so much you can do before going full paranoid losing internet functionality.” The U-S-D training covers everything from protecting passwords and bank accounts – to creating programs to protect the students’ families from cyberattacks. MGP KPBS News.

##########

Another activity kids may be up to this summer is playing video games.

My colleague Jade Hindmon has more on how e sports is bringing community to what is often considered a solitary past time.

“Oh my god there’s literally 3 seconds left!”

“No no!! Oh my god, no no no… (laughter) Well, now it’s even”

“I have an iron sword… gaming controller sounds” OR Smash Bros Nat 1 shorter.wav

“I fell! (laughter) I’m not used to this…”

You’re hearing the sound of kids playing Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, a crossover fighting game. It’s a massively popular game with an audience that ranges from children to professional esports players.

While esports leagues are often concentrated in high schools and colleges, one local esports program is focusing on younger kids and teens. Their goal is to create a safe space for young people to play and develop their gaming prowess… while also building a tight-knit community that helps them find their niche.

Here to talk more about the program is Christian Chamberlain. He is the Digital Enrichment Coordinator at YMCA Mission Valley. Welcome, Christian.

First of all, what’s your background in gaming and esports?

Could you run through how the program at the YMCA works?

You recently reopened the digital studios at the YMCA. We actually spoke to some of the kids and parents there… One parent, Bitta Ntambakwa, has been bringing her son Derek to the esports league for about a year and a half. And she believes it helped him find his niche:

It sounds like the esports program has really helped these kids find their community. Tell us more about that.

TAG: That was Christian Chamberlain (Chamber-lynn), the Digital Enrichment Coordinator at YMCA Mission Valley, speaking with KPBS Midday Edition host, Jade Hindmon.

To hear the whole Midday Edition show on e sports, look for the KPBS Midday Edition podcast.

##########

And moving to more traditional sports, … an S-D-S-U professor is trying to prevent concussions in football.

Sci-tech reporter Thomas Fudge tells us how.

The injuries that come with sports are often the result of impact. This is especially true of a sport like football. George Youssef, a mechanical engineer at San Diego State, has created a new kind of foam for use in football helmets. He says protective helmets need to do two things. “You want to reduce that as much as possible. And you want to spread it on time, as long as possible. You want the body to react naturally to the incoming load. And keep that load below a safety threshold. So far tests of the material have been done in a lab, using sensors that mimic the human brain. Ultimately, Youssef says he wants to partner with a company that makes football helmets, to see if concussions are reduced as players’ heads collide with ground or other helmets. Thomas Fudge, KPBS news.

##########

And before you go… Hockey fans will get a rare treat later this year, when the N-H-L returns to San Diego.

Yesterday, the Anaheim Ducks announced they'll play a pre-season game at Pechanga Arena September 29th.

That's when they'll host the L-A Kings.

This will be the Anaheim Ducks' first preseason game in San Diego since 19-94.

Pechanga Arena is home to the San Diego Gulls, a Ducks affiliate.

##########

That’s it for the podcast today. As always you can find more San Diego news online at KPBS dot org. Join us again tomorrow for the day’s top local news, plus, a local teacher has tips on preventing or lessening the summer slide. I’m Debbie Cruz. Thanks for listening and have a great Wednesday.