(NewsWorthy.news) – A California police department has gained attention for appearing to keep information about officer-involved shootings secret from the public.
The Fontana Police Department is the center of a lengthy piece of journalism showing numerous cases in the past several months that received little to no public acknowledgement from the agency. All of them were shootings that involved one of the department’s policemen.
According to a report from San Bernardino’s local newspaper, The Sun, the Fontana law enforcement agency has been mostly silent about three officer-involved shootings within the past six months. For each case—and in response to the backlash incurred by keeping details quiet—Chief Michael Dorsey has cited California law exemptions that permit police to temporarily refrain from sharing information on a case pending investigation.
Despite the use of state transparency laws and their exemptions for such cases, the department is still being accused of hiding too much information from the public. Some attorneys have said the agency must share more than they are, even with the invocation of the legal exemptions.
One family even filed a lawsuit against the department, saying they failed to release bodycam footage of their loved one’s shooting within the legally required time. One case in particular has garnered significant attention and criticism for its long-delayed update on information about a shooting that took place on November 11, 2023.
The incident occurred when officers went to a Fontana residence to respond to reports that a man was threatening his family. Upon confronting the man, a shooting began that involved police and injured one officer. The 33-year-old suspect was unarmed at the time of his death, leading the state’s attorney general to investigate the case.
Fontana police has not shared further details than its original press release, a move which has been defended by Dorsey. He has said that he reveals more information in some cases and less in others so as not to interfere with individual investigations, adding that he is “not trying to hide anything.”
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