Bay Minette points to police body camera footage to bolster lawsuit defense – but wants video sealed

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) – Lawyers for the city of Bay Minette want to introduce body and dash cam videos to bolster their argument that a wrongful death lawsuit should be dismissed, but they don’t want the public the way.

City prosecutors have asked a federal judge to keep the videos under seal. In court filings, they cite threats on social media that were directed at Officer Brandon Thompson.

“The release of bodycam and dash cam will only intensify a toxic mix of vitriol and hatred,” they wrote in a court filing.

The shooting, which occurred in August 2022, killed Otis French Jr. The city maintains French grabbed the officer’s Taser gun.

A lawyer for the French family says the family wants the images to be made public. The plaintiffs’ attorney, Je Yon Jung, argues in his response that the bar for sealing evidence in a federal case is extremely high.

“They express only vague and speculative concerns about public reaction and fail to demonstrate specific and credible threats or harm that would result from disclosure,” she wrote. “Furthermore, defendants ignore the important public interest in transparency regarding law enforcement actions, particularly in cases involving the use of deadly force.”

Chief U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Beaverstock indicated this week that he would take up that issue on Nov. 6 at the same time as hearing arguments on whether the lawsuit should be dismissed.

Evans Bailey, outside general counsel for the Alabama Press Association, told FOX10 News it’s rare for federal judges to block access to court exhibits.

“These are generally public documents that the public should have access to,” he said. “But there are exceptions to this rule.”

Bailey said the judge could decide to keep the video hidden from the public for now, but release it later. He pointed to a 2021 court ruling by a federal judge regarding body camera video from a police shooting in Huntsville. Judge Abdul Kallon initially kept the body camera videos under seal. But he agreed to disclose it after granting the officer’s motion to dismiss the suit.

“And he wrote a very long opinion about it, expressing how important it is for people – especially in recent years – to hold law enforcement accountable; how it is in the public interest for them to see these documents,” he said.

The Huntsville case involved a 2019 police shooting that left Crystal Ragland dead. The judge determined in this case that the police officers’ actions were justified.

A federal judge in Montgomery widely cited Kallon’s decision in determining that body camera footage would not be made public in a case involving a person who died from a police dog bite. The decision in that case indicated that the Huntsville case was over by the time the public had access to the video.

“In this case, however, with only months remaining before jury selection and trial, while recently filed motions for summary judgment are still pending, the release of the footage at this time implies “important considerations regarding the interests of defendants, the public, and the Court to ensure both the reality and appearance of a fair and efficient administration of justice in future proceedings,” the decision states.

Bay Minette’s lawyers argued the same reasoning applies to the current lawsuit. In addition to potentially endangering the officer, they argue it could “potentially poison the jury” and jeopardize the chances of a fair trial.

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