24 Aug Seeking the Ruben Salazar Files

In the months leading up to the 40th anniversary of the killing of Ruben Salazar, I filed a California Public Records Act request with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department seeking documents that might shed light on what happened the day the newsman died. An L.A. Times columnist and Spanish-language KMEX-TV news director, Salazar was shot in the head by a tear-gas missile fired by a sheriff’s deputy after rioting exploded in East L.A. during the National Chicano Moratorium Against the Vietnam War on Aug. 29, 1970. The case has been clouded by controversy and speculation for 40 years.

Sheriff Lee Baca initially denied my request. But amid public demands by Los Angeles County supervisors and others to release the thousands of pages of documents, Baca reversed his decision and said he would order a review of the eight boxes of files to determine whether he would unseal any records. I wrote a flurry of blog posts and articles and produced the Salazar video above. Below are links to some of the articles in this unfolding reporting endeavor:

Baca Refuses to Release Salazar Files
Baca Now Considers Releasing Salazar Records
L.A. Sheriff to Turn Over Salazar Files to Watchdog Agency
Confidential County Report Says Some Salazar Records Should Be Released