Oak Ridge police Archives - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

Why refusing to release a police incident report is a problem

By Deborah Fisher|2014-08-09T15:20:16-05:00August 9, 2014|Categories: crime records|Tags: incident reports, Knoxville News Sentinel, Oak Ridge police|0 Comments

The Knoxville News Sentinel reported today that Oak Ridge officials have refused to release a police incident report in a case in which two officers fired four gunshots at a suicidal woman. This is the second time in recent weeks that journalist Bob Fowler has reported that the police department has refused to give media a copy of an incident report in a situation involving or possibly involving police. The other was in a case in which a woman said she was sexually assaulted by someone who appeared to be a police officer or security guard. In both instances, the Oak Ridge police released some information through a press release. [...]

Knoxville News Sentinel: Oak Ridge police deny access to incident report

The Knoxville News Sentinel explores whether police incident reports, also called offense reports, should be subject to the Tennessee Public Records Act and open for public view. The story was sparked when Oak Ridge police denied the News Sentinel's request to view an incident report related to an alleged sexual assault of a woman by someone "who appeared to be a police officer or security guard." Police say the alleged crime is under investigation so the report is protected from disclosure. TCOG is quoted, as well as Office of Open Records Counsel Elisha Hodge. Here's a link to the story.