NORFOLK, Va. — A Norfolk Circuit Court judge on Thursday ruled the Norfolk Police Department must turn over surveillance video to Legacy Lounge. This comes a week after the club was denied an injunction to reopen.
The video from August 5th shows what happened inside the lounge that led up to the quadruple shooting outside of the lounge. The surveillance footage was recorded on Legacy’s security cameras and copied by police after the shooting, as a part of the police department's investigation.
After police copied the video, Legacy's representative said the surveillance video was gone from Legacy's security system.
The surveillance footage will have to be kept under seal and not available to the public.
The ruling from Judge David Lannetti shows the video must be "produced to the plaintiff in 7 days for the protective order."
Marcus Calabrese, of Image Capital Group, Legacy's representative, released a statement following the ruling.
"Legacy Lounge is grateful the court ruled in favor of transparency today. The release of the security footage, although in limited capacity, will shed some light where all parties can benefit from the full story conveying their compliance and address the city's concerns."
Marcus Calabrese, Image Capital Group
Last month, the city council voted to revoke Legacy's conditional use permit. The city argued the club violated the terms of the permit when it didn’t do enough to protect the public following a shooting outside Legacy on August 5. Police say the shooting stemmed from a fight that started inside the club. Four men including a sheriff’s deputy were shot and hurt.
Legacy Lounge appealed the decision, but the court denied an injunction for them to reopen. The business and the city have been in and out of court.
