CPOA works to protect police privacy
Some feel the information is a matter of public interest.
Published Feb. 12, 2010
The Columbia Police Officers Association has filed an injunction to withhold information related to police misconduct complaints from public record.
It was granted a temporary restraining order to challenge the Citizens' Police Review Board Ordinance that came into effect in July 2009, CPOA Executive Eric Dearmont said.
The Columbia Police Department received a Sunshine Request several weeks ago that requested some internal investigations information regarding former CPD officer Justin LaForest, Dearmont said. At that time, CPOA had filed for an injunction and a motion for a temporary restraining order.
"Our action is not only about the direct case of LaForest," Dearmont said. "We are using this request as a means to address what we feel is a larger inequity."
Dearmont said the CPOA filed the injunction to protect officer personnel information and documents and information related to internal investigations. Dearmont said the language of the ordinance might unjustly remove certain privacy protections for police officers.
"I want to be very clear that we're not trying to hide anything," Dearmont said. "Prior to July, every city employee had certain protections when it came to their personnel files, and now there's at least some question as to whether or not those protections have been revoked for police officers."
Dearmont said they were optimistic about the outcome for the organization and the officers.
"At the very least, we're looking for some more clarification for what the city is entitled to," Dearmont said. "We think that the city's current interpretation may carry some unintended consequences for all parties involved."
CPD Lt. Krista Shouse-Jones said the injunction filed by the CPOA stopped the release of the records in question until a judge is able to make a decision in court.
"We would not be able to release those records until the court decides whether or not that injunction stays in effect," Shouse-Jones said.
MU professor Charles Davis, executive director of the National Freedom of Information Coalition, said strong case law would prevent the CPOA from advancing past the initial inquiry.
"There's a case called Guyer v. Kirkwood, and it very clearly dictates that any investigation into the complaints of misconduct are public records" Davis said. "They're not personnel records, they're public records."
Guyer v. Kirkwood was a court decision regarding Missouri Sunshine Law, which states meetings or records of a public body should be opened to the public.
"There's no doubt that could be legislatively fixed, but this isn't a legislative fix, this is an attempt to judicially overturn really stable precedent that says those things are public record," Davis said.
The hearing for the case, originally scheduled for Feb. 1, has been delayed until Feb. 16. Dearmont said the CPOA plans to go forward with the hearing Feb. 16 and are optimistic they will come to a solution.
Davis said this issue is an uphill battle given the fact there is a great deal of public interest in allegations of police misconduct.
"That's not something that ought to be treated as a privacy issue, because it's not a privacy issue, it's a matter of public interest," Davis said.