March 31, 2022
Honorable Chief Judge Emily C. Marks
United States District Court
idle District of Alabama
Frank M. Johnson Jr. U.S. Courthouse Complex
One Church Street
Subject
fequest for exhibit
DELIVERED VIA EMAIL
Dear Judge Marks:
lama reporter for the Alabama Media Group, which publishes AL.com, The Huntsville Times,
The Birmingham News and the Press Register in Mobile. | am writing to you to request that
body camera footage in Pettaway v. Barber et. al., be made public.
Police use of force continues to be of great public interest in the city of Montgomery, throughout
the state of Alabama and across the nation. In this case, there is public interest in seeing the
videos that show the police actions on July 8, 2018, when Joseph Lee Pettaway was fatally
bitten by a city K-9. The controversial incident has been the subject of numerous local and
rational news stories, including articles that won a Pulitzer Prize for national reporting, and has
left open questions about police K-9 procedures, use of force policies and police liability.
In the nearly four years since Mr. Pettaway's death, public tax dollars have funded the defense
of the litigation resulting from that fatal encounter, yet the public has been kept from seeing the
footage of police officers acting on the public's behalf. The video footage will show the public
what happened
[have discussed this matter with an attorney for the Alabama Press Association, who told me
that because Courts have recognized the public's right of access to the judicial system, exhibits
to substantive motions are presumed public and should only remain sealed for good cause that
outweighs the public's right to know.
Mr. Pettaway’s family supports making the footage public. Mr. Walter Pettaway, the plaintif in
this case and the brother of the deceased, has said through his counsel in court filings and told
AL.com that he wants the public to see the video.
‘wan alabamamediagroup.comSpecifically, | am seeking Officer Nicholas Barber's body camera video footage, which is.
identified as Exhibit 3 to the Defendant's motion for summary judgement (Doc. 280), filed on
March 30, 2022; and also identified as Exhibit 5 to the Plaintif's motions for partial summary
judgement (Docs. 233 and 234), filed on Feb. 24, 2022.
To mitigate any burden on the Court, | am willing to pay reasonable fees for copies, or to
provide any necessary equipment, such as flash drives or disks.
Sincerely,
A
fate |
Ashley Remkus
Reporter
Alabama Media Group
256-425-1561
[email protected]
CC: Honorable Jerusha T. Adams
Honorable Judge Marks’ chambers
nw alabamamediagreup.com