Can public review body camera footage in Petaluma teen’s arrest?

CrimeBeat Q&A is a weekly feature where police reporter Julie Johnson answers readers' questions about law enforcement.

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Can the public view the body camera video taken during the June arrest of Petaluma teen Gabbi Lemos, who has filed a civil rights lawsuit against the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office? If not, why not?

Ned Studholme, Santa Rosa

The Sonoma County Sheriff's Office says no.

Lemos, 18, was arrested June 13 outside of her family's Liberty Road home on suspicion of resisting arrest and battery on a police officer.

But Lemos says that Deputy Marcus Holton violated her civil rights by using excessive force against her, according to the lawsuit filed Nov. 12 in U.S. District Court in San Francisco. Lemos suffered bruises and abrasions during her arrest that she said have required medical treatment.

The lawsuit also accuses the deputy of violating Lemos' free speech rights because she was verbally defending her sister at the time of her arrest. Speech is protected by the Constitution, her lawyer Izaak Schwaiger said.

Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Sgt. Cecile Focha defended Holton, as well as the other five deputies who responded to the scene outside Lemos' home that night, stating that all the deputies 'behaved with restraint and professionalism during a highly volatile situation.' She said their supervisors have reviewed the body cam recordings.

The Press Democrat filed a public records request Nov. 12 with the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office to receive a copy of the body cam videos. The request was denied in a Nov. 18 letter from the Sheriff's Office legal staff that stated 'body camera recordings are exempt from public disclosure.'

'The recordings are confidential records of investigation … and contain privileged and confidential official information,' the letter says. 'The public interest served by not disclosing the recordings clearly outweighs the public interest served by disclosure of the recordings.'

Lemos pleaded not guilty Tuesday to one misdemeanor charge of resisting or delaying arrest, the District Attorney's Office said.

Submit your questions about crime, safety and criminal justice to Staff Writer Julie Johnson at julie.johnson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @jjpressdem.