Journalists and transparency advocates have sued the City of San Diego, accusing officials of stonewalling requests for police records, including body‑worn camera footage, 911 logs and internal reports, tied to two federal immigration enforcement operations last year. The complaint, filed by the First Amendment Coalition and private attorneys on behalf of reporter Kathleen Morrissey, says the city either turned over heavily redacted documents or refused to produce anything at all after formal public‑records requests. Morrissey, a co‑founder of the nonprofit news outlet Daylight San Diego, previously worked at the San Diego Union‑Tribune.
According to the lawsuit, Morrissey submitted a records request on July 21, 2025 for materials related to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation at the Mesa Vista apartments in Linda Vista on July 2, 2025, followed by another request on Dec. 9, 2025 for records and body‑camera footage tied to an ICE‑related operation at the 47th Street trolley station on Nov. 18, 2025. The filing says the city released a redacted 911 call log on Aug. 28, 2025 but refused to provide additional documents two days after the Dec. 9 request. As reported by FOX 5 San Diego, the complaint spells out that timeline and accuses the city of unlawfully withholding records.
City Says Footage Is Investigatory
The lawsuit states that the city leaned on the Haynie v. Superior Court line of cases and argued that body‑worn video falls within ongoing law‑enforcement investigations and is therefore exempt from disclosure. That position has become a recurring flashpoint in California transparency battles, and the First Amendment Coalition has repeatedly gone to court to force agencies to turn over records. First Amendment Coalition filings outline the group’s broader efforts to compel disclosure in similar disputes.
Reporter Says Footage Lets the Public See What Happened
In a statement quoted in FAC’s filing, Morrissey said body‑camera videos "are exactly the kinds of records that allow the public and journalists to see what actually happened on the ground." The complaint argues that the withheld footage is precisely what reporters need to verify accounts of crowd control tactics, detentions and the use of force during the ICE actions. FOX 5 San Diego also noted a letter the First Amendment Coalition sent in early January urging the city to follow state public‑records rules.
Legal Backdrop
Recent California laws expanded public access to police audio and video. SB 1421 and AB 748 require agencies to release certain use‑of‑force and body‑camera records unless doing so would substantially interfere with an active investigation. Agencies can delay release in limited circumstances, but they must provide written explanations and revisit those justifications periodically under the statutes. For more details, see the legislative text for AB 748 and coverage of how courts and agencies have applied those rules from KQED.
What Comes Next
The lawsuit asks a judge to order the city to hand over full, unredacted records and to decide whether the cited investigatory exemptions actually apply to these ICE‑related incidents. The court’s ruling will determine whether San Diego’s use of those exemptions passes legal muster and could shape how local agencies around the region handle public‑records requests tied to immigration enforcement in the future.
