dronedj.com Open in urlscan Pro
192.0.66.2  Public Scan

Form analysis
1 forms found in the DOM

GET https://dronedj.com/

<form role="search" id="searchform" class="search-form header-search-form" method="get" action="https://dronedj.com/">
  <label for="search-field" class="screen-reader-text"> Search for: </label>
  <input type="search" id="search-field" name="s" value="" class="" placeholder="Search …">
  <button type="submit" class="" tabindex="-1">
    <span class="screen-reader-text">Submit</span>
    <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" fill="none" viewBox="0 0 30 30" class="icon-search">
      <path stroke="currentColor" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" stroke-width="2" d="M21.5 21.5 28 28M13.142 2c6.155 0 11.143 4.99 11.143 11.142 0 6.153-4.99 11.143-11.143 11.143C6.99 24.285 2 19.295 2 13.142 2 6.99 6.99 2 13.142 2">
      </path>
    </svg> </button>
</form>

Text Content

Skip to main content

Toggle main menu
Drone DJ Logo Go to the DroneDJ home page Switch site
 * 9to5Mac Logo9to5Mac
 * 9to5Google Logo9to5Google
 * 9to5Toys
 * Electrek
 * SpaceExplored
 * About
 * Privacy

 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 

Toggle social menu
 * 

Toggle dark mode
Search for: Submit
Toggle search form
 * DJI
   * DJI Mavic Air 2
   * DJI Mavic Mini
   * DJI Mini 2
   * DJI Mavic 2 Zoom and Pro
   * DJI Inspire
   * DJI Mavic Pro
   * DJI Phantom 4
   * DJI Spark
 * Parrot
 * Skydio
 * EHang
 * Autel
 * SwellPro
 * Reviews
 * Long Reads

 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 

 * 

Toggle dark mode
 * Police
 * police drones
 * drone laws


CHULA VISTA POLICE LOSE COURT BID TO OVERTURN DRONE VIDEO ACCESS

Bruce Crumley | Apr 15 2024 - 12:18 am PT
0 Comments

A landmark case on public access to video shot by law enforcement drones has
taken a decisive turn, with the California Supreme Court’s denial of a Chula
Vista Police Department motion seeking to keep its aerial footage confidential.

As DroneDJ reported previously, the case has challenged the policy of Chula
Vista’s police force that all video its drones shoot on missions are “records of
investigations,” and thereby inaccessible to the public. The department claims
that position aims to protect the privacy of anyone captured in the footage.
Local journalist Arturo Castañares has battled that contention in his litigation
against the city’s position, and has now prevailed in the dispute following the
state Supreme Court’s denial to hear the case.

Chula Vista’s high court petition followed Castañares’ victory last December,
during his appeal of an initial defeat a year ago. Those appellate judges
overturned the earlier decision siding with the city’s law enforcement
department, which had made all drone videos inaccessible to the public. Its
logic: The footage was either part of ongoing criminal investigations, or could
become evidence in potential inquiries launched in the future, thereby
justifying safeguards from third party scrutiny.



Castañares decried that reasoning as ludicrous, given the countless number of
routine 911 responses the craft respond to that involve no crime or
sensitive privacy concerns.

His victorious appeal – now upheld as the legal reference in California by
virtue of the Supreme Court’s denial to review it – means Chula Vista
police video cannot benefit from the original blanket position that public
interest was best served by footage not being disclosed. It will now be up to
original judge to take the case back, and determine the conditions and rules
under which public access to that drone video must be provided.

“We still have to go back to the trial court for a determination as to which
specific videos are exempt,” said Castañares’ lawyer Cory Briggs following the
decision. “For now, we only know that the exemption does not apply across the
board just because the cops invoke it.”

Meaning, the initial judge in the case – who backed Chula Vista Police
Department’s position on keeping drone video confidential – will now decide
what, and when, outsiders can get a peek at it. And as myriad court battles
across the nation have shown, the politicized nature of the U.S. justice system
– and ideologically-driven agendas of some of its judges – make no outcome
certain. 

That’s one reason why it may be a little optimistic for David Loy, legal
director of the First Amendment Coalition, to predict the California case on
police drones is likely set a precedent for the rest of the nation to follow.

“It’s certainly persuasive authority to courts outside California,”
Loy told the Times of San Diego. “Basically I think this is the correct result —
that you can’t just say that all police drone footage is categorically exempt
from disclosure as an investigatory record.”

For its part, Chula Vista has insisted any degree of public access will require
manually reviewing and classifying countless hours of drone video, representing
labor costs that the force can’t fund – and possibly putting the financial
future of its aerial program at risk.



The degree to which that footage will be open to public consultation – and
extent of police vetting beforehand required – is now a matter for the original
trial judge to decide.

Add DroneDJ to your Google News feed. 

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

You’re reading DroneDJ — experts who break news about DJI and the wider drone
ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest
news, and follow DroneDJ on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop.
Don’t know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos,
and subscribe to our YouTube channel.


FEATURED


FROM DRONEDJ DRONE DJ LOGO

prevnext
slide 1 to 2 of 4


AMAZING DRONE VIDEO SHOWS BABY PENGUINS JUMPING OFF 50-FOOT CLIFF 

Ishveena Singh May 6 2024


BIGGEST DRONE SHOW BREAKS WORLD RECORD [VIDEO]

Ishveena Singh May 6 2024


DRONE SCENE: YOUR GUIDE TO FINDING GREAT FLYING LOCATIONS IN THE UK

Ishveena Singh May 2 2024


MODALAI RELEASES NEW NDAA-COMPLIANT DEVELOPMENT DRONES

Ishveena Singh May 3 2024


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Subscribe to DroneDJ on YouTube for exclusive videos




COMMENTS


Expand Close comments

Expand Close comments


GUIDES


POLICE


POLICE DRONES

drone laws


AUTHOR

Bruce Crumley BDronedj

Bruce Crumley is journalist and writer who has worked for Fortune, Sports
Illustrated, the New York Times, The Guardian, AFP, and was Paris correspondent
and bureau chief for Time magazine specializing in political and terrorism
reporting. He splits his time between Paris and Biarritz, and is the author of
novel Maika‘i Stink Eye.





Manage push notifications


All
Update


We would like to show you notifications for the latest news and updates.


Allow Cancel


Please wait...processing


Close

We would like to show you notifications for the latest news and updates.


Allow Cancel


Please wait...processing


Close