ORLANDO, Fla. — A judge agreed Wednesday to temporarily block local authorities from releasing records related to comedian Bob Saget’s death after his family filed a lawsuit Tuesday.
The temporary injunction from Circuit Judge Vincent Chiu prohibits the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and District Nine Medical Examiner’s Office from releasing any photos, videos or audio recordings related to the investigation into Saget’s death.
In his order, Chiu said he found Saget’s wife, Kelly Rizzo, and his daughters would “suffer irreparable harm in the form of severe mental pain, anguish, and emotional distress if the requested temporary injunction is not granted.”
“The Court finds ... that the public interest is served by the entry of a temporary injunction to allow the Court adequate opportunity to weigh Plaintiffs’ legitimate privacy interest against the public’s claim for disclosure,” he wrote.
Saget, 65, was found dead Jan. 9 at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Orlando. The Orange County Sheriff’s Office has already released an incident report and a recording of the 911 call by hotel security.
“While we are sensitive to the family’s concerns about the right to privacy, that must be balanced with our commitment to transparency, compliance with the law, and the public’s right to know,” the Sheriff’s Office said in an unsigned statement Wednesday morning.
According to Saget’s autopsy report, which the Medical Examiner’s Office made public last week, he died of head trauma that “most likely incurred from an unwitnessed fall” in his room. A toxicology analysis released along with the report did not reveal any illicit drugs or toxins.
His death was ruled an accident.
The complaint from Saget’s family argues that records from the death investigation and autopsy are confidential and should be exempt from release. Photos, video and audio recordings of autopsies are already exempt from public disclosure under Florida’s public records laws.
Saget, who rose to fame on the hit TV show “Full House,” had performed at Hard Rock Live at Orlando’s Universal CityWalk two days before his death as part of a stand-up comedy tour of Florida cities. After his appearance in Orlando, the first host of “America’s Funniest Home Videos” called it “a perfect first show of 2022,” in a Facebook post.
“So great to make people laugh and have a good time,” Saget wrote.
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