Tennessee Coalition for Open Government Archives - Page 17 of 21

2 Sep, 2016

Sam Kennedy to be inducted into national Open Government Hall of Fame

By Deborah Fisher|2016-09-05T10:13:29-05:00September 2, 2016|Categories: Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|1 Comment

Sam Kennedy A former Tennessee Press Association president, judge, district attorney, newspaper editor and publisher has been become the 16th inductee into the State Open Government Hall of Fame. Selected by a panel from the National Freedom of Information Coalition and Society of Professional Journalists, Sam D. Kennedy becomes another member of the “Heroes of the Fifty States” for his work to promote open government and transparency. For more than half a century, Kennedy has been a First Amendment proponent and active FOI advocate of Tennessee state and local government. Throughout his long career, he served the public in many capacities including positions spanning journalism, law and county [...]

15 Aug, 2016

Poll: Tennesseans universally support access to police body camera footage in cases of death and injury

By Deborah Fisher|2019-09-11T18:57:04-05:00August 15, 2016|Categories: crime records, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: Advisory Committee on Open Government, crime records, legislature, police body cameras, TBI|1 Comment

NASHVILLE — About 9 in 10 Tennesseans (89%) support public access to police body camera video when it records use of force that results in a citizen’s serious injury or death, according to a new poll by icitizen in collaboration with the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government. The support crosses partisan, age and regional lines. The results demonstrate strong citizen agreement that such video be disclosed to the public. In addition, a clear majority of voters (57%) believe the public has a right to see video of officer-involved shootings before an investigation is finished. About one-third (35%) oppose giving the public access before an investigation is finished (8% are unsure). “While it [...]

5 May, 2016

Chattanooga police agree to release crime, other police data

By Deborah Fisher|2016-05-05T19:15:50-05:00May 5, 2016|Categories: Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: Chattanooga, crime records, open data, police shootings|1 Comment

Something good on the police data front. From the Chattanooga Times Free Press today: Police are considering posting information online about officer-involved shootings, assaults on officers, use-of-force incidents and complaints so that anyone can access it without filing open records requests. Chattanooga Police Department Chief of Staff David Roddy The department is one of 53 jurisdictions across the country that have committed to Obama's Police Data Initiative, which aims to increase transparency, trust and accountability through the release of data. The initiative was created in 2015 after a report by the president's Task Force on 21st Century Policing. Police already provide some data through the Chattanooga Public Library's [...]

25 Mar, 2016

TCOG opposes closing access to body camera footage related to police use of force

By Deborah Fisher|2016-03-25T14:27:54-05:00March 25, 2016|Categories: Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: police body cameras|0 Comments

The Tennessee Coalition for Open Government, a nonpartisan organization that seeks to preserve and promote government transparency, opposes a legislative proposal that would close indefinitely public access to body camera footage related to questions of excessive use of police force or police misconduct. A bill that passed out of a House subcommittee this week in its current form would close these two key categories of footage created by body cams, making the video confidential until the conclusion of any investigation and resulting disciplinary, administrative or judicial actions, which could take an undetermined number of months or even years. We understand that law enforcement agencies as well as some communities have [...]

18 Feb, 2016

TCOG Board elects Memphis attorney Lucian Pera as new president, names executive committee

By Deborah Fisher|2016-02-18T07:12:48-06:00February 18, 2016|Categories: Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: Adam Yeomans, Dorothy Bowles, Doug Pierce, Lucian Pera, Marian Ott, TCOG board, TCOG news|0 Comments

Memphis attorney Lucian Pera has been named as the new President of the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that seeks to improve citizen access to public information and open government in the state. Lucian Pera Pera, a partner with the Memphis office of Adams and Reese LLP, has served as a member of TCOG’s Board of Directors since 2007 and as its vice president since 2010. Adam Yeomans, the Associated Press Regional Director for the South, was elected as vice president. The board also re-elected to new terms on the executive committee Marian Ott as treasurer and Dorothy Bowles as secretary. Pera succeeds Doug [...]