Appeals court rules police records generally must be public

DON THOMPSON Associated Press SACRAMENTO (AP) — An appeals court ruled Wednesday against California Attorney General Xavier Becerra's refusal to release records his office obtained from other agencies regarding police shootings, use of force and officer misconduct. Becerra had argued that it should be left to those other agencies to release their own documents under a state law that took effect last year. He said it would overburden his Department of Justice to have to sort through the voluminous records. But the appeals court in San Francisco largely upheld a lower court ruling that Becerra must release the records. The state's transparency law generally requires releasing the records "regardless (of) whether the records pertain to officers employed by the Department or by another