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LA County Sheriff's Deputies Union Blocks Public Access to Records

LA Sheriff Jim McDonnell addressing recruits at the Biscailuz Training Academy in Los Angeles, Calif. on Thursday, May 3, 2018.
New recruits train to become deputy sheriffs in 2018. New California law opens up records of officer conduct often kept secret from the public, paving the way for more transparency.
(
Susanica Tam for KPCC
)

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New California law opens records of officer conduct often kept secret from the public: police shooting and use of force investigations, findings of lying and sexual assault. But since SB 1421 went into effect January 1, police unions across the Southern California have contend it does not apply retroactively. 

The Association of Los Angeles Deputy Sheriff's succeeded in getting a judge to issue a temporary restraining order Thursday, barring the release of those records until the issue can be more closely considered by the court.  Los Angeles County now joins the City of Los Angeles as well as Riverside, Ventura, Orange and San Bernardino Counties with similar restrictions in place.

News organizations, including KPCC and the L.A. Times, have gone to court in an effort to get the records released.

Read more about California's history of secrecy on LAist: 

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