Ontario officers’ rights violated, court finds
The secret video surveillance of Ontario police officers in their locker room, done without a warrant, violated their constitutional privacy rights, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled.
In a decision Thursday, the appeals court affirmed a district court ruling that found that Ontario Police Sgt. Brad Schneider, while serving as a detective in 1996, had violated his fellow officers’ rights by arranging to install a hidden camera in the men’s locker room while investigating a flashlight theft. The camera was discovered in 2003, when the department began moving to new headquarters.
The camera recorded more than 100 officers, according to the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, which filed a class-action suit against the department on their behalf. The 4th Amendment bans such surveillance without probable cause and a court-issued warrant, the ACLU said.
Ontario Police Det. Scott Anderson, one of the plaintiffs, said officers were “appalled” to learn of the videotapes and feared that they could have found their way into the wrong hands -- jeopardizing undercover work and other sensitive tasks.
The Ontario Police Department declined to comment on the case.
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