SeaWorld: Don't Release Whale Attack Video
SeaWorld and the family of a trainer slain by a killer whale want to prevent video of the attack from becoming public.
Dawn Brancheau died last month after being pulled into the water by the 12,000-pound orca.
SeaWorld's cameras recorded the death, and the tapes were voluntarily turned over to law enforcement.
Once the Orange County Sheriff's Office concludes its investigation, the material would become public under Florida law.
Brancheau's family said Monday through a spokesman that public airing of the killing would only worsen their grief, according to the Orlando Sentinel newspaper.
They could seek a court injunction. The family and SeaWorld have been consulting the lawyer who represented race driver Dale Earnhardt's widow in a successful court fight to keep his 2001 autopsy photos private.
Last week, officials released recordings of the 911 calls made after a Brancheau was pulled into the water by the whale.
Investigators have said Brancheau died from multiple traumatic injuries and drowning. The 22-foot-long whale pulled Brancheau into the pool by her ponytail last week after a performance.
In police investigative reports released earlier, Brancheau's co-workers described the swiftness of the attack and the furious response that came after alarms sounded around the pool. Employees who were at other pools, behind computers or emptying coolers of fish rushed to the scene.
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