Media organizations sue for security footage from outside Florida high school

Three media companies filed a lawsuit against authorities in Florida on Monday in an effort to obtain security footage from outside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School during a mass shooting earlier this month. 

CNN, the Miami Herald and the Sun-Sentinel name the Broward County Sheriff’s Office, Sheriff Scott Israel, Broward County Public Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie, the Broward County School Board and other officials as defendants, according to the Orlando Sentinel. 

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“There is a strong public interest in having the public — and more specifically Florida citizens — fully evaluate how first responders and police reacted during the most critical phases of this terrible tragedy,” the lawsuit says, according to the Sentinel. 

“Even Sheriff Israel has conceded that this is information the public needs to know. Disclosing this video footage from exterior cameras (not the interior where the shooting occurred), lies at the core of understanding exactly how events unfolded and will provide critical insight into the propriety of the government’s response.”

The sheriff’s office and the school district have said that the video would reveal their security plan, adding that it is part of the criminal probe as well as the sheriff’s office internal investigation. 

Local authorities have been criticized after it was revealed that officers reportedly failed to enter the building after responding to calls about a shooter. 

Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) announced on Sunday that the state is launching an investigation into law enforcement’s response to the shooting. 

Scott also said he would not suspend Israel after Florida House Speaker Richard Corcoran (R) called for it over the response to the incident.