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Bob Saget’s family sues to stop police sharing video and images from scene of his death
Lawyer argues these materials must remain private ‘out of respect for the dignity of Mr Saget’
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Bob Saget’s family has filed a lawsuit to prevent Florida police officials from releasing sensitive information about the comedian’s death to the public.
The lawsuit, filed on Tuesday (15 February) in Orange County, names Sheriff John Mina and the District Nine Medical Examiner’s Office.
Saget’s widow Kelly Rizzo and three daughters from a previous marriage have argued that photographs, video and audio recordings, and autopsy information, which were prepared during the investigation into his death, are “confidential and exempt from disclosure to the public”.
Their attorney Brian Bieber told Fox News they were seeking injunctive relief against the release of “sensitive information” that must remain private “out of respect for the dignity of Mr Saget and his family”.
The Full House star was found dead in an Orlando hotel room on 9 January 2022.
On 9 February, the comedian’s family revealed he died from accidental trauma to the head, adding that there were no signs of drug use or alcohol in the autopsy report.
As per the family’s statement at the time, officials concluded Saget “accidentally hit the back of his head on something, thought nothing of it and went to sleep”.
Subsequently, The New York Times reported that some neurological experts have concerns over the nature of Saget’s injuries.
Dr Gavin Britz, the chair in neurosurgery at Houston Methodist, said these look more consistent with a “baseball bat to the head” or a fall from “20 or 30 feet”.
Dr Jeffrey Bazarian, an emergency physician and concussion expert at the University of Rochester Medical Centre, added: “I doubt he was lucid and doubt he thought, ‘I’m just going to sleep this off’.”
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In addition to his roles on Full House, and its sequel Fuller House, the beloved actor was known for hosting America’s Funniest Home Videos and voicing the narrator on hit sitcom How I Met Your Mother.