SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A judge is ordering video showing a fatal police shooting inside a federal courthouse to be made public.
U.S. District Judge John Dowdell on Friday overruled arguments from government attorneys who said releasing the video could lead to retaliatory gang violence against the U.S. Marshall who fired the shots. The ruling says pixilation obscures the officer’s identity, guarding against any danger.
The footage expected to be released on Monday shows the fatal shooting of a defendant who lunged at a witness in a 2014 gang-related racketing trial. Dowdell dismissed the family’s wrongful death suit Friday.
The Department of Justice wanted it kept under seal due to safety concerns, but a media coalition including the Associated Press argued it’s a public record in an important police use-of-force case.
Media attorney David Reyman says the case was an important battle for transparency.