Sheriff Agrees to Limited Viewing of Ruben Salazar Files

In 1994, I filed my first California Public Records Act Request to review the Sheriff's Department files on Ruben Salazar. The department denied the request, saying the records were confidential law enforcement files. I made another CPRA request in 1995. It, too, was denied. Then in early 2010, as the 40th anniversary of Salazar's slaying approached, I filed another request with Sheriff Lee Baca. He refused to release the files. RELATED: Documents - View FBI and LAPD Records on Ruben Salazar I produced several reports and a video after Baca's denial, which sparked an outcry from members of the Salazar family, activists, journalists and elected officials -- all of whom said it was time for the department to come clean on the case and release its records. Finally, in late February 2011, Baca agreed to allow a limited viewing of the once-secret records by journalists and academics.