DEA Agent Who Accidentally Shot Himself Fails on Privacy Act, Tort Claims, Court Says

A Drug Enforcement Administration special agent in Florida failed to prove his Privacy Act claim stemming from the disclosure of a video that showed him accidentally shooting himself with his agency-issued firearm during a presentation at a community center, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit held Jan. 17 (Paige v. DEA).

The court affirmed summary judgment to DEA on Lee Paige’s Privacy Act claim. An agency-copied video that was limited to the accidental gun discharge itself eventually appeared on the internet and in DEA’s internal e-mail system. But the court determined that this ...