crime records Archives - Page 4 of 9 - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

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 [...]

5 Jan, 2016

Commercial Appeal: Focus on police shootings draws attention to policy secrecy

By Deborah Fisher|2017-03-21T16:59:32-05:00January 5, 2016|Categories: crime records, Legislature|Tags: crime records, police shootings, State Rep. G.A. Hardaway, TBI, TBI files, The Commercial Appeal|0 Comments

Marc Perrusquia of The Commercial Appeal Memphis investigative reporter Marc Perrusquia provided an outstanding overview in The Commercial Appeal on Sunday of the legal exemption for the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation that allows it to keep files of long-closed cases confidential forever. A movement to open records of closed TBI cases -- at least for investigations into police shootings where citizens have been killed -- started last year as the city of Memphis began to grapple with the number of deaths, including a recent fatal shooting of a black teenager Darrius Stewart. The story is reprinted here, with permission from The Commercial Appeal: Tennessee not alone in sealing police investigations. By Marc [...]

1 Jul, 2015

Knoxville prepares new blanket ban on releasing dashcam video, waits for TN Supreme Court ruling

By Deborah Fisher|2015-07-01T09:28:44-05:00July 1, 2015|Categories: crime records|Tags: crime records, dashcam video, Knoxville Police Department, Ron Mills, Tennessee Supreme Court, Vanderbilt rape case|1 Comment

The Knoxville Police Department is waiting on a decision by the Tennessee Supreme Court before it puts into place a new blanket ban on release of all dashcam videos, sometimes indefinitely. In a story today by longtime crime and courts reporter Jaime Satterfield in the Knoxville News Sentinel, Knoxville's Deputy Law Director Ron Mills says: “You have to protect the integrity of not only your investigation but your prosecution. If there’s a pending appeal or within the possible time frame for a (post-appeal) relief petition, yes, it could be years. In the case of unsolved crimes, it could be indefinite.” The proposed policy would be a marked change for the Knoxville [...]

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