Photos of Bob Saget taken after his death to be protected from public, judge rules
‘What we can do today by entering this injunction is to allow you a little bit of space and privacy to travel [their loss]’, judge told late comedian’s family
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Your support makes all the difference.A limited number of records around Bob Saget’s death will be protected from public release, a US judge has ruled.
The late comedian’s family – including Saget’s widow Kelly Rizo – filed a lawsuit on 15 February to prevent local Florida authorities from making “sensitive information” around Saget’s available to the public.
A day later, Circuit Court Judge Vincent Chiu allowed a temporary injunction on photos and videos taken of Saget after his death.
The well-loved comedian was found in a hotel room in Orlando, Florida after performing a live stand-up show on 9 January.
At a virtual hearing for the lawsuit on Monday (14 March), Judge Chiu ruled that both the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and District Nine Medical examiner’s office are prohibited from releasing visuals of Saget’s body and his personal effects.
Meanwhile, certain other records – such as photos of Saget’s hotel room that don’t include any of his personal belongings – can be made public, he decided.
The Saget family’s lawyer Brian Bieber at the hearing revealed that the sheriff’s office had taken 147 images of Saget after his death.
Per the judge’s ruling, only 57 of these will be available in the public domain.
Commending the family and Flordia state authorities for striking a “very delicate and necessary balance”, Judge Chiu then addressed Rizo and the couple’s daughters.
He said: “Nothing that we’re going to do today obviously is going to take away the pain of your loss. But the hope is that what we can do today by entering this injunction is to allow you a little bit of space and privacy to travel that.”
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Before Judge Chiu’s ruling, authorities had already released Saget’s autopsy report, a recording of the hotel staff’s 911 call, and the incident report.
Making their case, Saget’s family had argued that death investigation and autopsy records are confidential.
Further, Florida’s public records laws mandate that photos, video and audio recordings of autopsies be exempt from public disclosure.
Saget’s death was ruled an accident. He was 65 at the time.