crime records Archives - Page 11 of 19 - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

17 Mar, 2016

Tennessee Supreme Court says police records in active cases may be withheld from the public

By Deborah Fisher|2018-08-06T08:47:57-05:00March 17, 2016|Categories: crime records, investigative exemption, public records lawsuits Tennessee|Tags: crime records, Justice Gary Wade, Justice Holly Kirby, Justice Sharon Lee, Tennessee Supreme Court, The Tennessean|0 Comments

The Tennessee Supreme Court ruled today that any record that is part of an active police department’s criminal investigation may be withheld under the state's public records laws. Justice Sharon Lee The opinion written by Chief Justice Sharon G. Lee gave only brief nod to the media’s role in reporting about crime and law enforcement. Instead, she said the Tennessee Rules of Criminal Procedure, which are written by the Tennessee Supreme Court, govern access to police files until a criminal case is over and all appeals are exhausted. “The media plays an important and necessary role in holding government officials accountable. Yet, the General Assembly has rightly recognized that [...]

13 Mar, 2016

If you ever wondered about the importance of access to public records, watch the movie Spotlight

By Deborah Fisher|2016-03-14T08:04:46-05:00March 13, 2016|Categories: crime records, Legislature|Tags: crime records, legislature, police body cameras, Spotlight|0 Comments

Scene from the movie Spotlight, which portrays the investigative reporting team of The Boston Globe who used public documents to help uncover a story of abuse of children by priests. There’s a great scene about public records in the movie Spotlight, which is based on the true story of The Boston Globe’s investigative reporting of child sex abuse by Catholic priests. Reporter Michael Rezendes rushes to the court clerk’s office to get an exhibit that had been filed as part of a court motion. It contained letters and evidence that showed that the Archdiocese of Boston had known about the molestation of children for years, but failed [...]

23 Feb, 2016

Memphis mayor says body cam video cannot be released if part of investigation

By Deborah Fisher|2016-02-24T10:26:26-06:00February 23, 2016|Categories: crime records|Tags: crime records, Mayor Jim Strickland, Memphis, police body cameras|0 Comments

Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland. Click on picture to see the full Fox13 report. Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland told Memphis TV journalist Greg Coy that video footage from body cam video cannot be released if the event it records is under investigation. The quote came during a story by Coy on the whether citizens will have access to video footage created by body cameras. "By law, it can't be revealed just like a paper document that is evidence. All evidence, whether it is a gun, whether it is a paper or whether it is video, if it is under investigation it cannot be released,” Mayor Strickland said. From the story: The city [...]

22 Feb, 2016

CA: Indefinite holding of police body-cam video would destroy purpose of having the cameras

By Deborah Fisher|2016-02-22T07:53:12-06:00February 22, 2016|Categories: crime records|Tags: Commercial Appeal, crime records, Doug McGowen, Lucian Pera, Memphis, police body cameras, video|0 Comments

The Commercial Appeal makes the point in an editorial over the weekend that a proposed policy to keep body cam video confidential until after an investigation into a police-involved shooting is finished could mean months or even years before citizens get to see it. Following is the Commercial Appeal's editorial, reprinted here with permission: During discussions at Memphis City Council meetings about the use of police body cameras, a point was made that should put citizens on alert. Memphis Chief Operating Officer Doug McGowen, talking about proposed policy issues regarding the use and release of body-camera video to the public, proffered that the Police Department would deny any records requests related [...]

17 Feb, 2016

Memphis presents policy to deny access to body cam video, moves forward with purchase

By Deborah Fisher|2016-02-17T08:22:09-06:00February 17, 2016|Categories: crime records|Tags: Commercial Appeal, Lucian Pera, Memphis, police body cameras, Sevier County, TBI|0 Comments

The Commercial Appeal reports today that the city of Memphis is moving ahead with a multimillion-dollar plan to equip its police officers with body cams, but also presented a policy that would deny citizen requests to see video from the cameras if the video is related to an ongoing investigation. This would include incidents that involve an officer-involved shooting, Memphis Chief Operating Officer Doug McGowen told council members. The proposed policy on access to video was not voted upon, and McGowen said the policy could be adjusted if it's not working, according to the Commercial Appeal. Lucian Pera, the Commercial Appeal's attorney, and president of Tennessee Coalition for Open Government, was quoted [...]