Judges's Opinion On Request
Judges's Opinion On Request
Judges's Opinion On Request
Defendants.
This case arose from Crystal Ragland’s death at the hands of Huntsville police
officers. Ragland, an Army veteran suffering from PTSD, was killed by officers
who were responding to reports that Ragland had a gun and was pointing it at her
neighbors. Doc. 48 at 4-7. Though the court dismissed plaintiff Brandie Robinson’s
lawsuit, see id. at 13-14, public interest in the shooting remains understandably high.
Now before the court is AL.com’s request for public access to bodycam footage filed
in support of the defendants’ motion to dismiss.1 For the reasons stated below, the
1
See Letter from Ashley Remkus, Investigative Reporter, Alabama Media Grp., to the undersigned
(Oct. 26, 2021), which is attached herein as Exhibit 1.
Case 5:21-cv-00704-AKK Document 51 Filed 11/01/21 Page 2 of 11
A.
In the early stages of this case, the parties jointly proposed a consent protective
order which would permit the parties to designate materials as confidential prior to
production. Doc. 7. The proposed order stipulated that “no materials designated as
disseminated,” but provided that the parties could file a motion objecting to any
confidentiality designation to bring the matter before the court. Id. at 5-6. The
proposed order also allowed for its terms to be modified or limited “either by written
agreement of the parties or by motion of any party for good cause shown.” Id. at 8.
Relying on this protective order, the defendants then moved for leave to file
evidence – specifically, bodycam footage from the defendant officers who shot
Ragland and a compilation of screenshots from the videos – under seal in support of
their motion to dismiss. See docs. 28, 32. Robinson, the personal representative of
2
Case 5:21-cv-00704-AKK Document 51 Filed 11/01/21 Page 3 of 11
Docs. 29, 29-1. In light of the then-pending motion to dismiss, the court temporarily
granted the defendants’ motion to file under seal, but promised to “revisit the issue
after ruling on the motion to dismiss.” Doc. 35. That time has now come.
B.
The defendants urge the court to maintain the confidentiality of the officers’
bodycam footage despite AL.com’s request.2 In support, they cite both the
protective order itself and Alabama Code § 12-21-3.1(b), which maintains that law
The court treats Robinson’s previous objection, doc. 29, as a motion objecting to the
request, see doc. 50. Therefore, the issue of unsealing the footage is now properly
before the court under the explicit terms of the protective order. See doc. 8 at 2.3
And because the bodycam videos were filed in support of a substantive motion that
required judicial resolution on the merits, and are therefore judicial records, this
court is bound by the federal common law – not Alabama state law – in determining
2
See E-mails from Greg Burgess, Att’y for Defendants, to the undersigned (Oct. 26, 2021, 16:18
CDT; Oct. 27, 2021, 14:00 CDT), attached herein as Exhibits 2 and 3.
3
See also F.T.C. v. AbbVie Prod. LLC, 713 F.3d 54, 61 (11th Cir. 2013) (quoting Nixon v. Warner
Commc’ns, Inc., 435 U.S. 589, 599 (1978)) (“District courts are in a superior position to decide
whether to enter or modify protective orders, and it is well established that ‘the decision as to
access is one best left to the sound discretion of the trial court.’”).
3
Case 5:21-cv-00704-AKK Document 51 Filed 11/01/21 Page 4 of 11
whether disclosure is proper. See Comm'r, Alabama Dep't of Corr. v. Advance Loc.
1.
process.” Chicago Trib. Co. v. Bridgestone/Firestone, Inc., 263 F.3d 1304, 1311
(11th Cir. 2001). Accordingly, the media and public have a presumptive right to
access judicial records. Id. This right is not absolute, and when deciding whether
to withhold a judicial record from the public, the court must balance the competing
interests of the parties to determine whether there is good cause to deny public
access. F.T.C. v. AbbVie Prod. LLC, 713 F.3d 54, 62 (11th Cir. 2013). Among the
relevant factors in this analysis are “whether the records are sought for such
significant events, and whether the press has already been permitted substantial
access to the contents of the records.” Newman v. Graddick, 696 F.2d 796, 803 (11th
Cir.1983) (citing Nixon v. Warner Commc’ns, Inc., 435 U.S. 589, 598, 602-03, n.11
4
Case 5:21-cv-00704-AKK Document 51 Filed 11/01/21 Page 5 of 11
the circumstances that led to the production of the particular [record] in question.”
Chicago Tribune, 263 F.3d at 1311 (citing Nixon, 435 U.S. at 598, 602-03).
2.
In their initial motion to file under seal, the defendants argued only that the
bodycam footage contained “confidential and sensitive information that should not
be shared with the general public.” Doc. 28 at 2. The defendants now argue also
that the “identities of the officers involved in this case—names and faces—are
readily discernable from the [bodycam] videos,” and that to “law enforcement
Thus, the defendants contend, “the release of these videos as proposed by AL.com
could compromise the safety of the defendant officers and foreclose them from
serving (or continuing to serve) in any undercover capacity now or in the future.”
Id.
In response, Robinson notes that the public already has considerable access to
the contents of the bodycam footage via the court’s memorandum opinion, including
the identities of the officers, and that the “City of Huntsville has concluded its
internal investigation and there are no other ongoing investigations into the matter
at this time that would outweigh the public’s need to have access to the contents of
5
Case 5:21-cv-00704-AKK Document 51 Filed 11/01/21 Page 6 of 11
the videos.” Doc. 50 at 4-7. Robinson also references multiple examples of recent
police misconduct in Huntsville and argues that “[g]iven the ongoing disputes
3.
acknowledging their broader societal context. Crystal Ragland’s killing, and this
subsequent lawsuit and request for records, comes during a time of important
reckoning in our country. To state the obvious, alleged systemic issues in policing
excessive force by police officers in recent years.4 Particularly relevant to this case,
African Americans and those experiencing mental health crises are victims of police
4
See Cheryl W. Thompson, Fatal Police Shootings of Unarmed Black People Reveal Troubling
Patterns, NPR (Jan. 25, 2021), https://www.npr.org/2021/01/25/956177021/fatal-police-
shootings-of-unarmed-black-people-reveal-troubling-patterns; Nicole Dungca et al., A dozen high-
profile fatal encounters that have galvanized protests nationwide, Washington Post (June 8, 2020),
https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/a-dozen-high-profile-fatal-encounters-that-have-
galvanized-protests-nationwide/2020/06/08/4fdbfc9c-a72f-11ea-b473-04905b1af82b_story.html.
5
See Police Shootings Database, Washington Post (Oct. 26, 2021),
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/investigations/police-shootings-database; 2020 Police
Violence Report, Mapping Police Violence (2020), https://policeviolencereport.org.
6
Case 5:21-cv-00704-AKK Document 51 Filed 11/01/21 Page 7 of 11
justice system and in our democratic society as a whole, especially because police
departments. 7 And because of the many doctrinal barriers that plaintiffs face in
pursuing judicial remedies for alleged police misconduct, 8 public access to videos
like those at issue here, even where there is no constitutional violation, is imperative
4.
not seek the bodycam footage for an illegitimate purpose, but instead requests access
events.” Newman, 696 F.2d at 803. As Ashley Remkus writes in her request, “[u]se
6
See Eliott C. McLaughlin, How George Floyd’s death ignited a racial reckoning that shows no
signs of slowing down, CNN (Aug. 9, 2020), https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/09/us/george-floyd-
protests-different-why/index.html; Ashley Remkus, Rubber bullets, tear gas, pepper spray: What
happened in Huntsville through the eyes of protesters, AL.com (June 8, 2020),
https://www.al.com/news/2020/06/rubber-bullets-tear-gas-pepper-spray-what-happened-in-
huntsville-through-the-eyes-of-protesters.html.
7
See Tim Arango & Shaila Dewan, More Than Half of Police Killings Are Mislabeled, New Study
Says, New York Times (Sept. 30, 2021), https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/30/us/police-killings-
undercounted-study.html; Rob Barry & Coulter Jones, Hundreds of Police Killings Are Uncounted
in Federal Stats, Wall Street Journal (Dec. 3, 2014), https://www.wsj.com/articles/hundreds-of-
police-killings-are-uncounted-in-federal-statistics-1417577504.
8
See generally Sunita Patel, Jumping Hurdles to Sue the Police, 104 Minn. L. Rev. 2257 (2020).
7
Case 5:21-cv-00704-AKK Document 51 Filed 11/01/21 Page 8 of 11
of force has been of great public and political interest in Huntsville in 2021,”
following the murder conviction of another police officer “for the shooting of a
suicidal man.” Exhibit A. As to this case, Remkus states, “the public once again
has a great interest in seeing the videos that show the operation of the city police
department and what happened when officers Jonathan Henderson and Brett Collum
encountered Crystal Ragland on May 30, 2019.” Id. And, as Remkus notes, “[i]n
the more than two years since [Ragland’s death], public tax dollars have funded the
litigation resulting from the fatal encounter, yet the public has been mostly kept in
The court agrees that releasing the bodycam footage will allow the public to
given the broader context in both Huntsville and the country at large. Moreover,
since the court’s memorandum opinion already discussed the events surrounding the
shooting in detail, “the press has already been permitted substantial access to the
contents of the records.” Newman, 696 F.2d at 803. Indeed, local news coverage
has already quoted portions of this retelling,9 and the release of the footage itself
thus does not implicate privacy concerns that weigh significantly against disclosure.
9
See Ashley Remkus, Judge dismisses lawsuit against Huntsville officers who shot and killed
Crystal Ragland, AL.com (Oct. 19, 2021), https://www.al.com/news/2021/10/judge-dismisses-
lawsuit-against-huntsville-officers-who-shot-and-killed-crystal-ragland.html (quoting the court’s
memorandum opinion); Judge dismisses lawsuit against Huntsville Police officers who killed
Army veteran Crystal Ragland, WHNT (Oct. 19, 2021), https://whnt.com/news/judge-dismisses-
lawsuit-against-huntsville-police-officers-who-killed-army-veteran-crystal-ragland (same).
8
Case 5:21-cv-00704-AKK Document 51 Filed 11/01/21 Page 9 of 11
of the parties’ interests, there is no good cause to deny public access to the bodycam
footage in this case. See AbbVie, 713 F.3d at 62; Chicago Tribune, 263 F.3d at 1311.
Therefore, because all three Newman factors weigh in favor of public access and
such access is vital in an open democratic society – including for the scrutiny of
due to be granted.
5.
The defendants request alternatively that the court orders redaction of the
of their names, faces, voices, and other identifying characteristics over the internet .
. . [is] a much larger and very specific threat to officer safety and privacy.” Exhibit
3. The defendant officers were public officials acting under the authority of the City
of Huntsville, and the footage depicts the officers performing their duties in a public
space in front of multiple witnesses. As such, the officers’ actions are rightfully the
subject of public scrutiny, and their limited right to privacy in these actions does not
override the public’s right of access to the full contents of the footage. See Toole v.
City of Atlanta, 798 F. App'x 381, 388 (11th Cir. 2019) (citing Smith v. City of
Cumming, 212 F.3d 1332, 1333 (11th Cir. 2000)) (discussing diminished privacy
9
Case 5:21-cv-00704-AKK Document 51 Filed 11/01/21 Page 10 of 11
concern). 10, 11 Therefore, because the officers are already named in the complaint
and other court filings, and due to the importance of public access here, the court
C.
for leave to file evidence under seal, doc. 35, is REVISED, and the defendants are
ORDERED to file exhibits A-C of their motion to dismiss, doc. 32, with the court
produce these exhibits to Brandie Robinson and AL.com by the same date.
10
See also Perez v. City of Fresno, 482 F. Supp. 3d 1037, 1048-49 (E.D. Cal. 2020) (citing In re
Roman Cath. Archbishop of Portland in Oregon, 661 F.3d 417, 425 (9th Cir. 2011)) (denying
request to blur non-party ambulance employees’ faces in wrongful death lawsuit where (1)
disclosure of bodycam footage was proper under a common law analysis and (2) the non-party
employees were acting in a public capacity alongside the defendant police officers); Sampson v.
City of El Centro, 2015 WL 11658713, at *7 (S.D. Cal. Aug. 31, 2015) (permitting release of
bodycam footage, despite privacy interests weighing against disclosure, where non-parties’
identities were redacted from the relevant videos and photographs).
11
The Alabama Supreme Court, albeit it in a different context, has similarly held that “the right
to privacy does not prohibit the broadcast of matter that is of legitimate public or general interest,
[and] [t]his concept is based upon the rationale that a right of action for invasion of privacy must
give way to the interest of the public in being informed.” McCaig v. Talladega Pub. Co., 544
So. 2d 875, 879–80 (Ala. 1989) (internal citations omitted). And, as the Court put it in another
case, “the white light of publicity safeguards the public[,] and free disclosure of truth is the best
protection against tyranny.” Smith v. Doss, 37 So. 2d 118, 120 (Ala. 1948).
10
Case 5:21-cv-00704-AKK Document 51 Filed 11/01/21 Page 11 of 11
_________________________________
ABDUL K. KALLON
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
11
Case 5:21-cv-00704-AKK Document 51-1 Filed 11/01/21 Page 1 of 2 FILED
2021 Nov-01 PM 03:08
U.S. DISTRICT COURT
N.D. OF ALABAMA
I am a reporter for the Alabama Media Group, which publishes AL.com, The Huntsville Times,
The Birmingham News and the Press Register in Mobile. I am writing to you to request that the
bodycam footage in Robinson v. City of Huntsville, be made public.
Use of force has been of great public and political interest in Huntsville in 2021, following the
trial of another officer, William Ben Darby, who was convicted of murder this summer for the
shooting of a suicidal man. The mayor and chief have said that shooting was within policy.
In the Ragland case, the public once again has a great interest in seeing the videos that show
the operation of the city police department and what happened when officers Jonathan
Henderson and Brett Collum encountered Crystal Ragland on May 30, 2019.
In the more than two years since, public tax dollars have funded the litigation resulting from the
fatal encounter, yet the public has been mostly kept in the dark.
Specifically, I am seeking copies of two body-worn camera videos that were identified as
Exhibits A and B and described in detail in the memorandum opinion filed on Oct. 15, 2021.
Ms. Ragland’s family supports making the videos available for public viewing. In an affidavit filed
in this case on Aug. 19, 2021, Ms. Brandie Robinson, who is Ms. Ragland’s sister and the
representative of her estate, asked that the videos be unsealed. “We believe unsealing the case
will ensure transparency and accountability in the pursuit of justice,” Ms. Robinson said in the
affidavit.
To mitigate any burden on the Court, I am willing to pay reasonable fees for copies, or to
provide any necessary equipment, such as flash drives or disks.
Case 5:21-cv-00704-AKK Document 51-1 Filed 11/01/21 Page 2 of 2
Sincerely,
.
Ashley Remkus
Investigative reporter
Alabama Media Group
200 West Side Square
Huntsville, Alabama 35802
[email protected]
Case 5:21-cv-00704-AKK Document 51-2 Filed 11/01/21 Page 1 of 1 FILED
2021 Nov-01 PM 03:08
U.S. DISTRICT COURT
N.D. OF ALABAMA
CAUTION - EXTERNAL:
Thank you for your email. We appreciate the opportunity to respond before the Court rules on AL.com’s
request.
Defendants object to the release of the body-worn camera (“BWC”) videos that have been filed under seal
in this case. Pursuant to section 12-21-3.1(b) of the Alabama Code, the BWC videos are “not public records” and
therefore “privileged” law enforcement investigative materials. Id. (“Law enforcement investigative reports and
related investigative material are not public records. Law enforcement investigative reports, records, field notes,
witness statements, and other investigative writings or recordings are privileged communications protected
from disclosure.”) (emphasis added); see also Something Extra Publ'g, Inc.. d/b/a Lagniappe Weekly v. Mack,
No. 1190106, 2021 WL 4344346 (Ala. Sept. 24, 2021) (reaffirming that section 12-21-3.1(b) exempts law
enforcement investigative materials, including videos, from requests under Alabama Open Records Act).
Furthermore, the BWC videos are subject to a consent protective order entered by this Court which designates
them as “confidential” and expressly prohibits their disclosure to, among other third parties, the media. (Doc. 8,
§§ 1, 5). Importantly, the filing of the BWC videos with the Court as evidence does not strip their confidentiality
designation under the protective order. (See id. at § 7). Lastly, these protections survive the conclusion of this
case. (Id. at § 10).
If the Court would like defendants to file a written objection beyond this email or address any particular
issue, we will gladly do so.
C. Gregory Burgess
LANIER FORD
2101 West Clinton Avenue, Suite 102(35805)
Post Office Box 2087 | Huntsville, Alabama 35804-2087
Website:www.lanierford.com
The information transmitted is intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain
confidential and/or privileged material. Any review, retransmission, dissemination or other use of, or taking of
any action in reliance upon, this information by persons or entities other than the intended recipient is
prohibited. If you received this in error, please contact the sender and delete the material from any computer.
Any federal tax advice contained in this message, including attachments, may not be relied upon to avoid any
tax penalties or to support the promotion or marketing of any federal tax transaction.
1
Case 5:21-cv-00704-AKK Document 51-3 Filed 11/01/21 Page 1 of 2 FILED
2021 Nov-01 PM 03:08
U.S. DISTRICT COURT
N.D. OF ALABAMA
CAUTION - EXTERNAL:
Please accept this supplement to defendants’ objection to the release of the BWC videos.
Beyond the reasons stated previously, there are other legitimate concerns with releasing the BWC videos
to the media and, ultimately, the public. The identities of the officers involved in this case—names and faces—
are readily discernable from the BWC videos. To law enforcement officers routinely involved in police-citizen
encounters and investigative assignments requiring anonymity and surprise, minimizing the public disclosure of
officer identities is significant to job performance and personal safety (including the safety of officer families).
This is especially true where, as here, one of the police officer defendants now holds a position with the
Department of Justice. In this role, the defendant officer locates and apprehends fugitives, an inherently dangerous
endeavor which regularly requires him to serve in an undercover capacity. As a result, it is imperative that the
BWC videos are not disclosed because such disclosure carries with it the very real danger of displaying the
officers’ names, faces, voices, and other identifying characteristics in a public, permanent, and uncontrolled
forum. In other words, the release of these videos as proposed by AL.com could compromise the safety of the
defendant officers and foreclose them from serving (or continuing to serve) in any undercover capacity now or in
the future. Indeed, as this Court can imagine, it would take only a little determination, but not extraordinary skill,
for someone with ill will toward these officers to then connect their identities with their personal residences, such
as through a probate records search. That risk, albeit a difficult one to fully assess, is extremely troubling to my
clients. Accordingly, for these additional reasons as well as the ones explained yesterday, we object to the release
of the BWC videos as requested by AL.com. See Bennett v. United States, No. 12-61499-CIV, 2013 WL 3821625,
at *6 (S.D. Fla. July 23, 2013) (relying on Romero v. Drummond Co., 480 F.3d 1234, 1246 (11th Cir. 2007) and
rejecting request to unseal documents); see also generally Chicago Tribune Co. v. Bridgestone/Firestone, Inc.,
263 F.3d 1304, 1311 (11th Cir. 2001) (“[A] judge's exercise of discretion in deciding whether to release judicial
records should be informed by a ‘sensitive appreciation of the circumstances that led to ... [the] production [of
the particular document in question].’”) (quoting Nixon v. Warner Comm’ns, Inc., 435 U.S. 589, 603 (1978)).
To the extent the Court is inclined to overrule our objections, we would respectfully request that the names
and faces of the defendant officers depicted in the BWC videos be fully redacted. In this event, we would be
willing to pay the reasonable cost of such redaction or handle that task internally. We recognize that the names of
the officers have already been disclosed through certain public filings accessible through Pacer. Nonetheless, we
view the widespread dissemination and publication of their names, faces, voices, and other identifying
characteristics over the Internet—which will occur when AL.com runs its story with the BWC videos and from
there that information will inevitably be shared extensively via social media platforms and so on—as a much
larger and very specific threat to officer safety and privacy.
C. Gregory Burgess
1
Case 5:21-cv-00704-AKK Document 51-3 Filed 11/01/21 Page 2 of 2
LANIER FORD
2101 West Clinton Avenue, Suite 102(35805)
Post Office Box 2087 | Huntsville, Alabama 35804-2087
Website:www.lanierford.com
The information transmitted is intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain
confidential and/or privileged material. Any review, retransmission, dissemination or other use of, or taking of
any action in reliance upon, this information by persons or entities other than the intended recipient is
prohibited. If you received this in error, please contact the sender and delete the material from any computer.
Any federal tax advice contained in this message, including attachments, may not be relied upon to avoid any
tax penalties or to support the promotion or marketing of any federal tax transaction.