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San Rafael, Calif. – A Los Angeles Superior Court judge has ruled that the City of El Monte must disclose permits authorizing police officers to work outside jobs and related records. The First Amendment Coalition represents the Los Angeles Center for Investigative Journalism (LACIJ), the nonprofit newsroom that publishes Investigate LA, in the lawsuit.
“The Court’s confirmation that outside employment forms are disclosable under the CPRA is a major win for transparency and open government,” Albert Serna, LACIJ executive editor and founder, stated in Investigate L.A.’s story about the court decision. “The public has a right to know if and when cops are working outside the badge, and how that may impact their ability to serve the public.”
In February 2025, Investigate LA editor Albert Serna Jr. made a Public Records Act request for copies of outside employment permits issued to El Monte police officers and related records since January 1, 2019. The city denied the request, claiming the permits and related records were exempt from disclosure as police personnel records. LACIJ and FAC sued in January 2026, arguing that the permits and related records must be disclosed because the public has a compelling interest in verifying whether El Monte is properly applying rules against improper or excessive outside employment and the records do not reveal sensitive personal information.
The court agreed, ruling: “[T]he Court does not find an unwarranted invasion of officer privacy due to disclosure of secondary employment records. Nor does the Court find that the public interest favors nondisclosure; to the contrary, there is a substantial public interest in allowing for public access to information about officers’ secondary employment.”
“The Court properly upheld the people’s right to know whether the city is enforcing the safeguards that prevent outside employment of police officers from compromising their primary duty to serve and protect the public,” said David Loy, FAC Legal Director, for the Investigate L.A. story.
Legal documents and other information about the case can be found here.