As was reported in the media, hackers were able to access the Los Angeles County Canine Association's website and began posting this information on thier own site.  Out office immediately began drafting a TRO and was preparing to walk into Court to obtain an injunction to shut down the site when the offenders decided to respond to our below email and shut it down.

Dear sir/ma’am,

            I am writing to demand that you immediately remove information unlawfully posted on your website. Specifically, your site includes a post, or “paste,” which discloses personal information pertaining to hundreds of police officers, many of whom belong to associations to which our law firm serves as general counsel. That paste is located at http://pastebin.com/X88wx1aq.

            Personnel records of police officers, including their home addresses, are confidential. See Cal. Penal Code §§146(e), 832.7, 832.8; Cal. Vehicle Code §1808.4(a)(11). As held by the California Court of Appeal, “the legislative intent is clear—to include within the conditional privilege all information in a peace officer’s personnel file, including home addresses and similar data, without regard to whether the information could also be obtained from the officer or elsewhere.” Hackett v. Superior Court, 13 Cal.App.4th 96, 101 (1993). 

Your paste unlawfully discloses confidential, privileged information, including the home addresses of police officers. That information, which was obtained through illegal computer hacking, puts the lives of law enforcement officers at risk. The document itself states that the information was obtained through hacking. By this time, you must be aware that numerous major media outlets are linking to the paste. You must also be aware that your website is republishing stolen, privileged information. Continued posting of this information makes your organization knowingly complicit in the violations of law discussed above. Accordingly, you must immediately remove the information from your website. Failure to do so will certainly result in civil litigation, and potentially result in a referral to federal authorities for review of criminal misconduct.

Because of the sensitive nature of the information involved, we must insist that the information be removed no later than 6:00 p.m. (PST) today, February 23, 2012. If it is not removed by then, we intend to immediately file an ex parte application for temporary injunctive relief and an action for damages. Thank you for your attention to this troubling matter. I look forward to your prompt response.

Regards,

Chris Gaspard

Attorney at Law

LACKIE, DAMMEIER & McGILL, APC

367 N. Second Avenue

Upland, CA  91786

Office: (909) 581-6115

Fax:    (909) 985-3299

chris@policeattorney.com