Lawyers representing the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department have filed a 13-page response to the media lawsuit seeking to unseal the Route 91 shooting investigation. (KSNV file)
LAS VEGAS (KSNV) —Lawyers representing the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department have filed a 13-page response to the media lawsuit seeking to unseal the Route 91 shooting investigation.
LVMPD's response claims ongoing secrecy is necessary.
“Despite the death of Stephen Paddock, there remains an active criminal investigation,” writes LVMPD’s private attorney, Jackie Nichols.
RELATED |Media lawsuit to unseal 14 search warrants executed in mass shooting investigation
The response also states that ongoing privacy is necessary “during the pre-indictment stage of an investigation,” without saying if an indictment is pending.
In the hours and days following the Oct. 1 massacre, detectives obtained 14 search warrants in connection with Stephen Paddock.
Without a pending criminal trial or the ongoing search for suspects, attorneys for News 3 and other media have argued for public disclosure.
In their opposition filing, LVMPD declares such disclosure would be damaging to police.
“Access would reveal investigative techniques used by law enforcement,” according to the legal filing.
Documents obtained by News 3 reveal an effort to seize text messages on at least two phones connected to Paddock, along with the contents of a Google e-mail account.
If unsealed, search warrant filings would likely contain significant information about other people and evidence that police encountered early in the investigation.
A hearing to potentially decide the matter has been scheduled for Jan. 16 at 8:30 a.m., in Las Vegas.