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Southern Poverty Law Center sues Jefferson Parish sheriff鈥檚 office for public records regarding officer brutality

NEW ORLEANS -- The Southern Poverty Law Center (人兽性交) has filed suit against the Jefferson Parish Sheriff鈥檚 office (JPSO) and will be asking a judge to compel Sheriff Joseph Lopinto to respond to a public records request the nonprofit has made seeking information on the death of Modesto Reyes on May 27, 2020. 听

A public records request was filed in the summer of 2020 seeking data on officer-involved injuries and internal affairs records regarding citizens鈥 complaints made against officers from 2010 to 2020. The Sheriff鈥檚 Office has refused to comply with that request, claiming the data sought does not exist and that certain records were only accessible for the past three years. The Sheriff鈥檚 office also claimed seeing records of internal affairs rises to an 鈥渋nvasion of privacy.鈥 听

Despite multiple revisions to the request, it continues to be denied outright, with the Sheriff鈥檚 Office now claiming 人兽性交 must pay $2,300 before it can hand over some of the requested documents, an excessive amount that also places the records out of reach of most members of the public. 听

According to a story听on the lawsuit written by Kathryn Casteel of the Southern Poverty Law Center:听

鈥淭he nonprofit began investigating misconduct by JPSO deputies after Reyes鈥檚 death and found at least 30 federal civil lawsuits filed against the department since 2010; many for excessive force and some for illegal use of deadly force or wrongful death. We know these findings are not all inclusive. They don鈥檛 include incidents that occurred during this time that did not result in federal civil lawsuits. We needed more information if we wanted a fuller picture.鈥澨

Lopinto claimed officers opened fire because Reyes, 35, allegedly pointed two firearms at the officers. JPSO deputies, however, don鈥檛 wear body cameras and the only footage of the incident is eight seconds of video from a Taser. The sheriff鈥檚 office never allowed Reyes鈥檚 family to see the footage, but it showed the clip to the media, which reported that the video appeared to show a man face down, rolling onto his back and holding two firearms. 听

An determined Reyes was shot twice in the back. The lawsuit can be read here.听