Undercover officers sue LAPD after photos released

A group of undercover police officers moved to file a lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles and its police department after photos of them were released.

The group of 321 Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers filed the governmental claims against Los Angeles and LAPD for negligence, alleging that by releasing their photographs, their lives were put at risk, according to McNicholas & McNicholas, the law firm representing the group.

The press release states that Los Angeles was responding to California Public Records Requests that the LAPD had previously declined to comply with, and included photos and other private information about the undercover officers in its response.

“The City of Los Angeles’ reckless production of the undercover officers’ identities does irreparable damage to these individuals — their lives, careers and ongoing investigations are at risk,” attorney Matthew McNicholas said in the statement. “The City of Los Angeles and LAPD have a duty of care to their employees and should have had appropriate safeguards in place to ensure nothing like this ever happened.”

“They need to face responsibility for their catastrophic negligence,” he added.

The two separate public records requests came from a journalist and a group called the Stop LAPD Spying Coalition, where both parties had requested a full roster of the police department. In both instances, the press release states that Los Angeles “incorrectly” and “wrongly” included current undercover officers and officers with previous undercover assignments.

The legal team said the information that was handed over to the journalist and the group was then published in March on watchthewatchers.net — a public website that allows a user to search for a specific LAPD officer.

The Los Angeles Times reported that the police union, the Los Angeles Police Protective League, filed a lawsuit last month over the website, demanding that a judge order it to be taken down.

The legal team also said that the “breach” of information went without the knowledge of LAPD Chief Michel Moore, who has since launched an investigation into the incident.

Craig Lally, the president of the Los Angeles Police Protective League, said in a statement to The Hill that the release of the photos and other sensitive information could exacerbate staffing issues in the force.

“The disclosure of this sensitive information has put police officers in further harm’s way and is a colossal blunder of epic proportions that will spur more officers to leave the LAPD and further stymie recruiting,” Lally said. “We are down nearly 1,000 officers from a few years ago and this episode will only exacerbate an already dire staffing crisis.” 

The Hill reached out to the LAPD for comment.

Updated at 1:21 p.m.