FAC represents the Los Angeles Center for Investigative Journalism (LACIJ), a nonprofit newsroom that publishes Investigate LA, in a Public Records Act lawsuit to compel the City of El Monte to disclose records documenting outside employment of its police officers.
To investigate outside employment of El Monte police officers, LACIJ asked El Monte to disclose copies of any outside employment permits issued to officers since January 1, 2019. The city refused to produce the permits, contending they were police personnel records that are exempt from disclosure.
Our lawsuit argues that the permits do not qualify as police personnel records because they relate to how officers are compensated and do not concern previous employment before joining the police department or advancement, appraisal, or discipline within the department. The permits should not be secret because the public has a right to know whether outside employment presents any potential for conflict of interest or corruption and whether the city is complying with laws and policies governing such employment.
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