San Francisco police defend the search of Bryan Carmody's properties after the journalist sells leaked documents about the death of Jeff Adachi

The San Francisco Police Chief has defended the decision of his department to search the home and office of an independent reporter looking for information on the police reports disclosed. Chief William Scott told CBS San Francisco – KPIX-TV Wednesday that he was confident that the search warrant issued to search the property of Bryan Carmody was legal and in accordance with the Shield Law, which protects journalists from the revelation of sources to the forces of order.

KPIX reported that the police raid on the Carmody property was intended to find evidence how the reporter obtained documents leaked – apparently from someone from the San Francisco Police Department. The documents revealed information about the cause of death of the Bay Area public defender, Jeff Adachi, who died in February.

Carmody reportedly sold the information to three television stations in the Bay Area.

The mayor of San Francisco, London Breed, said in a statement this week that "as part of the investigation, the (police) department followed the proper judicial procedure to seek a search warrant, which has was approved by two judges I believe that a member of the (police) must be held responsible for the disclosure of this information. "

San Francisco Police Commissioner John Hamasaki told KPIX that the leak was a "frightful" attack on Adachi and his family.

Chief Scott said the search warrant was filed after city officials sought an investigation into the leak.

"This leak is a violation of public trust and we understand this and we are fully investigating these allegations, including allegations of potential misconduct by members of the San Francisco Police Department," said Scott, adding that any member of the police force to be involved would be held responsible.

The details of the warrant and information obtained by the police during the searches were still under seal from Thursday morning.

Carmody, meanwhile, has sworn on Twitter to protect its sources.

Carmody's fellow journalists and friends launched a GoFundMe page, hoping to raise enough money for the journalist to replace the items confiscated by the police during this operation.