Chula Vista takes battle over police drone footage back to state Supreme Court

Chula Vista will ask the state Supreme Court to review another court’s ruling in an ongoing lawsuit over the public disclosure of drone footage captured by its police department.

It’s the second time that the city is seeking such a review in the case.

The legal dispute stems from a lawsuit filed in 2021 by Arturo Castañares, publisher of La Prensa San Diego, who sought copies of one month’s worth of CVPD drone recordings under the California Public Records Act.

Castañares has said his lawsuit was intended to see how the police department was using its drones and whether it is doing so lawfully.

The city declined the request, saying some videos were tied to ongoing investigations, while the release of others would violate the privacy rights of those captured in the videos.

The case has bounced back and forth between lower and appellate courts ever since.

In his latest decision in the case, Superior Court Judge Timothy Taylor ruled that the city should release around two dozen videos to Castañares, though certain portions of the videos should be blurred in light of privacy concerns.

Last week, the Chula Vista City Council voted to ask the California Supreme Court to weigh in on Taylor’s ruling.

In a statement, the city said that “at least a portion of the recent ruling was in error” and that it would ask the state court to review the ruling “to clarify language in the Castañares matter that may lead to confusion in appropriately responding to future California Public Records Act requests.”

The statement does not specify which part of the ruling was considered incorrect or what language requires clarifying.

“The city may, from time to time, release drone footage of incidents to illustrate the efficacy of the program to the community, however, the city’s overarching goal is to preserve the privacy of its residents where appropriate and obtain clear guidance regarding when disclosure of drone footage is warranted under California law,” the city’s statement continued.

In his first ruling in the case in 2023, Taylor agreed with the city’s position that the footage couldn’t be released because it falls under an exemption that allows the footage to remain confidential because it is investigatory material.

Castañares challenged the decision and the 4th District Court of Appeal ruled in December 2023 that while much of the drone footage could be exempt, it was incorrect to rule that all the video footage could be considered tied to investigations.

The city also sought the California Supreme Court’s review of that ruling, as it said the appellate court decision “could compromise significant privacy concerns of members of the public in this case, or in future public records requests.”

However, the state’s high court did not take up the case in April 2024 and it was sent back to Taylor.