Bay Minette points to police body cam footage to bolster lawsuit defense but wants video sealed

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) – Attorneys for the city of Bay Minette want to introduce body and dash cam video to bolster their argument that a wrongful-death lawsuit should be dismissed, but they don’t want the public to see it.

Attorneys for the city have asked a federal judge to keep the videos under seal. In court filings, they cite social media threats that have been directed against Officer Brandon Thompson.

“Release of the bodycam and dash cam will only intensify a toxic brew of vitriol and hate,” they wrote in a court filing.

The shooting, which occurred in August 2022, killed Otis French Jr. The city maintains that French grabbed the officer’s Taser gun.

A lawyer for the French family notes the family wants the footage to be made public. Plaintiffs’ attorney Je Yon Jung argues in a response that the bar for sealing evidence in a federal case is extremely high.

“They …