Calif. Agency Asks Court To Rule On Officer-Identity Case

A Southern California appellate court has been asked by the state's seventh-largest city and its police union to overturn a ruling requiring agencies to provide the names of officers involved in shootings to the media, reports the Los Angeles Times.

In arguments before the 2nd District Court of Appeal, the city of Long Beach and the Long Beach Police Officers' Assn. asked justices to overturn a Los Angeles County Superior Court ruling that the city must respond to a newspaper's request for the officers' identities. They each argued the names were protected personnel information and that releasing them would jeopardize officer safety.

The Times has argued for the release of the names in several cases, including the case of a man who was fatally shot after pointing a water nozzle at officers.