New York Times, Desert Sun reporter sue Riverside over jail death videos, reports

The New York Times have filed a public records act lawsuit alleging that the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department have been illegally holding back on requested public documents about multiple deaths in county jail.

The reporter who requested the documents is Christopher Damien, a Desert Sun reporter who requested the documents while participating in a New York Times fellowship.

“When people die in the government’s custody, their relatives and the public have the right to review the government’s investigation of that death,” said Damien in a press release. “The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department has withheld details about these investigations for far too long. California law is clear: These are public records.”

The lawsuit is not yet in Riverside Superior Court’s case access portal, but Damien’s complaint includes approximately 450 pages of written communication from Damien, the Sheriff’s Department or the department’s attorney. A communication from Correctional Sergeant Victoria Miara from May 30, 2025, said that the requested records from the deaths of Abel Chacon and Kaushal Niroula could not be released because they are under a protective order. The death of Richard Contreras was also under investigation, she wrote.

Damien submitted two requests, one on April 30, 2024, and a second on Aug. 29, 2024. The April 30, 2024 request was for the autopsy reports of 46 people who died in county jails. In the Aug. 29, 2024 request, Damien asked for investigation reports regarding 14 deaths, and the video collected by the county in 12 deaths.

Damien still has not been provided with the autopsy reports for five deaths, investigation reports regarding three deaths, and video regarding six deaths, his complaint says.

There is no active criminal prosecution of three of the deaths he requested information on, his complaint says.

“Our reporter is not aware of any ongoing criminal investigation or proceeding related to these three deaths. My understanding from him is that (Kaushal) Niroula’s killer has been convicted, (Abel) Chacon’s death was not investigated as a criminal matter, and (John) Hemmer’s killer has also died. Moreover, all three of those individuals died more than 18 months ago. As a result, the statute does not permit the Department to withhold these reports, and the Department should produce them as soon as possible, the complaint says.

Some of the footage he did receive was redacted, and a document that should have been provided under his request was instead found in a lawsuit filed by the decedent’s family, his complaint says.

The California Public Records Act (CPRA) requires requested documents to be provided within 45 days of the request. If the government believes that the record was exempt from the CPRA, it must name the specific exemption, such as the requested document being medical records of a government employee.

On May 1, 2024, the Sheriff’s Office denied the request on its entirety, saying that all records are exempt under the investigation exemption, the official information privilege, the constitutional right to privacy, HIPPA, the California Confidentiality of Medical Information Act and the catch-all exemption. Damien and The New York Times objected, and they released 38 of the 46 autopsy requests on May 17, 2024.

California _passed a law_establishing that records related to an investigation conducted by a local detention facility into a death are public records on Oct. 4, 2023.

The suit is brought by the First Amendment Coalition (FAC), a nonprofit legal aid organization for journalists.

“Transparency in government is always essential to the functioning of a democracy,” said FAC Senior Staff Attorney Aaron Field. “But it is particularly important when it comes to deaths that occur while in the custody of law enforcement. Disclosing records about these deaths empowers the public to hold law enforcement accountable.”

According to the FAC, the county has spent $13.3 billion to settle cases filed by the families of the deceased.