eaWorld Joins Trainer's Family In Fight To Keep Videos Private

seaworld trainer killed video Security cameras were rolling when a killer whale at SeaWorld's Florida park grabbed a trainer by her hair and pulled her underwater, leading to her death.

Now SeaWorld and the family of Dawn Brancheau are fighting to keep videos and photos related to her death out of the public eye.

A Florida judge on Thursday granted a request from SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment to join in a lawsuit filed last week by Brancheau's family seeking to prevent the release of the footage, which was captured at SeaWorld's Orlando, Florida, park on February 24.

Brancheau was interacting with an orca named Tilikum when the animal grabbed her ponytail and pulled her underwater in front of shocked onlookers at Shamu Stadium. She died from "multiple traumatic injuries and drowning," the Orange County Sheriff's office said.

Portions of the incident were captured on two cameras at the park -- one that shows a view from under water and another from that park's Sky Tower, according to the family's complaint, which was filed last week.

"The underwater view does not show Mrs. Brancheau until after she had entered the water. The overhead camera was not aimed at the scene until after the incident had begun," the complaint states.

"Significantly neither camera shows what occurred in the moments prior to and including Mrs. Brancheau being pulled into the water and offer no insight into the cause of this tragic event."

Brancheau's family filed the complaint against the Orange County Sheriff and the District Nine Medical Examiner's Office, who have possession of the footage.

Circuit Court Judge William Kirkwood granted a temporary injunction of the release of the footage, noting that the sheriff's office filed a notice with the court stating it had no position on the matter. The medical examiner's office also filed a notice of no objection to the Brancheau family's complaint.

In a motion filed Monday, SeaWorld claimed it has an interest in the pending litigation because it is the exclusive owner of the footage. If possession of the videos is not controlled, the motion further claims, "it is almost a certainty that they will be made publicly available on the Internet," causing SeaWorld to lose its exclusive right to the video.

"Further, SeaWorld's interests are generally aligned with the Plaintiffs' interests, and SeaWorld, as the former employer of Mrs. Brancheau, seeks to assist Plaintiffs in protecting their privacy interests," the motion states.

SeaWorld also expressed concern that members of the media will be able to gain access to the videos if they become part of an investigative file with law enforcement.