TALLAHASSEE, Fla., Feb. 14 (UPI) -- The Miami Herald and CNN have sued the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to release the boot camp videotape of a teen who was beaten and died.
The media organizations filed the Tallahassee, Fla., lawsuit Monday seeking the release of the 20- to 30-minute boot camp video taken Jan. 6 of Martin Anderson, 14.
Two Miami Beach, Fla., legislators who saw the video last week told the newspaper it was brutal and distressing since one of seven guards under investigation appears to choke the boy.
The teen was at the Bay County boot camp near Panama City, Fla., for violating probation on an earlier charge of taking his grandmother's car on a joyride.
"The goal of the public records law is to make sure that what happens in the context of government is well known by the public," Miami Herald attorney Robert Beatty said. "The public has a right to know what happened there."
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement declined comment on the Leon County, Fla., suit.
