Public Records Archives - Page 43 of 74 - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

4 Apr, 2016

TBI, Sevier County sheriff keeps video of police shooting secret, though deputy back on duty

By Deborah Fisher|2018-11-09T08:21:07-06:00April 4, 2016|Categories: crime records|Tags: Branden Bearden, police body cameras, Sevier County Sheriff's Department, TBI|0 Comments

Just one week after a House State Government committee asked for a full study on body camera footage, a reporter in Sevierville continues to struggle to access police camera footage from a Jan. 13 fatal police shooting there. The reporter, Jeff Farrell of The Mountain Press, did what any good reporter would do after a sheriff's deputy shot and killed a fleeing suspect. Knowing that the Sheriff's Department had equipped deputies with body cameras, Farrell requested any dash cam or body cam footage of the incident. The Sheriff's Department, however, said it would not or could not release footage, saying it had turned over investigation into the incident to the Tennessee [...]

4 Apr, 2016

News-Sentinel praises delay on body camera legislation

By Deborah Fisher|2016-04-04T11:13:11-05:00April 4, 2016|Categories: crime records, Legislature|Tags: Knoxville News Sentinel, police body cameras|0 Comments

The Knoxville News-Sentinel in a Sunday editorial praises a House committee's decision to delay body camera legislation and wait for a study by the Advisory Committee on Open Government: The state Legislature wisely has decided to take a closer look at police body cams before imposing secrecy on the videos they produce. Legislation proposed by Rep. Glen Casada, the Republican Caucus chairman from Franklin, would have kept all footage away from the public for at least a year while the issue was being studied. The moratorium was needed, Casada said, to protect the privacy of bystanders who might be caught on camera. The Tennessee Coalition for Open Government agreed that [...]

31 Mar, 2016

Why can’t I access public records in Tennessee? A particular problem for “border” journalists

By Deborah Fisher|2016-03-31T14:56:29-05:00March 31, 2016|Categories: requests|Tags: Chattanooga, non-residents, public records requests|0 Comments

A freelance journalist who lives near Chattanooga "literally two blocks" from the state line gives her perspective on the city's policy to deny her access to public records because she lives in Georgia. She makes a good case for why that policy doesn't make sense. See Cari Wade Gervin's column in Chattanooga Times Free Press: Expand access to records to all citizens Tennessee state law provides a right of access to citizens of the state of all public records. That doesn't mean government entities cannot provide public records to non-residents, they just don't have to. That position was upheld in 2013 in a Virginia case by the U. S. Supreme [...]

30 Mar, 2016

Watch the video, read excerpts, from House Committee meeting on body cam video

By Deborah Fisher|2016-03-30T09:44:14-05:00March 30, 2016|Categories: crime records, Legislature|Tags: Advisory Committee on Open Government, Office of Open Records Counsel, police body cameras, State Rep. Bill Sanderson, State Rep. Bob Ramsey, State Rep. Curry Todd, State Rep. Johnny Shaw, State Rep. William Lamberth|0 Comments

State Rep. Bob Ramsey, R-Maryville Discussion by members of the House State Government Committee about body cam video legislation that would close access to records mostly centered on how best to avoid advancing the bill and instead request that the Advisory Committee on Open Government study the issue. See video: House Committee discusses body cam legislation. The committee clearly expressed that it did not want to move forward with a bill, with state Rep. Bill Sanderson, R-Kenton, stripping down his amendment to the part requiring a study and recommendation from the advisory committee, and state Rep. William Lamberth, R-Cottontown, at one point saying that passing any bill, even amended, [...]

29 Mar, 2016

House committee kills body cam bill, sends it to study by ACOG

By Deborah Fisher|2016-03-30T07:34:36-05:00March 29, 2016|Categories: crime records, Legislature|0 Comments

The House State Government Committee today killed a bill that would have closed access to body cam footage, including footage related to questions of police use of force and misconduct. It instead asked for the Advisory Committee on Open Government to study the issues and report back in January. (See Tennessean story: Attempt to seal police body cam footage fails) The Advisory Committee on Open Government is a broad-based group of 14 members representing various civic organizations, media, law enforcement and city and county governments. (See who is on the Advisory Committee on Open Government.) The original language in H.B. 876 had nothing to do with body cameras. But state Rep. [...]