Pubdate: Thu, 06 Aug 2015 Source: Orange County Register, The (CA) Copyright: 2015 The Orange County Register Contact: http://www.ocregister.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/321 Author: Kelly Puente JUDGE DELAYS DECISION ON POT-SHOP VIDEO SANTA ANA - A judge on Wednesday postponed a decision on whether to issue a temporary restraining order to stop the Santa Ana Police Department from using surveillance video in an internal affairs investigation over officers' actions in a pot shop raid. Three unidentified officers and the Santa Ana Police Officers Association have filed a lawsuit seeking to prevent internal affairs investigators from using a hidden camera video from a May 26 raid at Sky High Collective to determine if department policies were violated. The surveillance video shows officers making off-color remarks about a disabled woman and purportedly eating pot edibles and playing darts during the raid. In a Wednesday hearing, Corey Glave, the attorney representing the association and the three officers, said the officers had a reasonable expectation of privacy because they didn't know they were being "eavesdropped on or recorded." When officers raided the store, they disabled all the surveillance cameras and moved the customers outside, but they missed a hidden camera on a shelf. "At that point everybody in the room feels comfortable enough that they're not being recorded, so much so that the undercover officers removed their masks," Glave said. "Then you have adults having adult conversations, and some of them might not be the most pleasant to other people, but that's what they are." Glave argued that privacy rights were violated and that officers will suffer "irreparable harm," including discipline and termination, if the video is used in the ongoing investigation. The California Invasion of Privacy Act makes it illegal for individuals, with the exception of police or confidential informants, to wear hidden cameras and or to record phone conversations unless they tell the other person who is being recorded. Orange County Superior Court Judge William D. Claster, however, said he had reservations about some of the plaintiffs' claims. "I'm troubled by the fundamental request of halting an investigation based on the theory that the recording that's triggered this investigation is illegal," Claster said. Claster said the city of Santa Ana, having recently received the lawsuit, hasn't had adequate time to prepare their argument. "I have my doubts," the judge said to Glave, "but I also don't think the city has had a fair chance to respond." Claster then ruled to continue the hearing to give attorneys for Santa Ana and its police department more time to prepare a response. The case is scheduled to go before Judge Ronald L. Bauer at 1:30 p.m. on Aug. 13. Santa Ana Police Department officials have declined to comment on the internal affairs investigation. Matthew Pappas, an attorney for Sky High, has distributed clips and unedited versions of the video to news organizations, including the Register. In one of the clips, police officers break through the front door of the 17th Street medical marijuana dispensary and order at least a half-dozen customers to the floor. After most of the cameras are taken down, a camera they apparently didn't notice shows some of the officers making derogatory remarks about woman with an amputated leg who was in her wheelchair inside the dispensary. Glave has said the video is altered to intentionally misrepresent what happened. Staff writer Scott Schwebke contributed to this report. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom