Monday, November 28, 2011
Police beat Judge orders release of police documents
Posted by Max Brantley on Mon, Nov 28, 2011 at 3:36 PM
The city of Little Rock earlier had contended it had provided Erwin's lawyer, Keith Hall, all it was required to provide under the Freedom of Information Act. I tended to agree and am happy the judge finds otherwise. My understanding of the FOI was that a 1987 amendment had put personnel records off limits unless they formed a basis for suspension or firing. Hudson has neither been suspended nor fired for use of force.
Griffen, however, ruled differently after privately reviewing other documents provided by police. He ruled that "use of force" documents officers are required to submit amount to public records of performance of official duty. As such, they are not personnel records and should be released.
According to Griffen's order, Hudson has prepared such reports four times, including in the beating of Erwin. The others were Oct. 30, 2009 in the arrest of Ralph Jackson; Dec. 18, 2006 in the arrest of Jay Parks, and Feb. 7, 2011 in the arrest of Chase Cooper. David Koon reported earlier on the Cooper case. Like Erwin, he was the subject of force used by Hudson at Ferneau, was injured and was charged with disorderly conduct. His arrest wasn't captured on video, however.
I've asked the police and city attorney's office if they will appeal the ruling or turn over the documents. Here's a copy of the judge's order.
UPDATE: City Attorney Tom Carpenter said he had not seen the order yet, but he was "sure" the city would appeal.
This could be a landmark in the making if Griffen is upheld. It would open the door to an ability for the public to conduct a useful inquiry: How often do police officers, in Little Rock or elsewhere, use force in arrests? Are some officers more prone to use force than others? What are the outcome of cases in which officers use force?
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Comments (7)
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Like Max, I am kinda surprised at the ruling. He is saying, I think, that the Use of Force report has nothing to do with any personnel actions that might result from it--that it is a report of official police action, just as an accident report. It will be interesting to see if the appeals courts will uphold that decision.
Departments in several states have faced this issue in the past few months and lost every time. The police must release documents which may show a "pattern and practice". This is the only way to determine punitive damages.
Because "Deaf, Disabled Senior Citizen on Bicycle Deemed Threat by Police, Tased to Death."
BTW, the dead man was black. In North Carolina.
"According to Anthony's sister, her brother was disabled, had frequent seizures and trouble hearing. He lived in an independent living community, and 'used to smoke cigarettes, drink coffee and ride his bicycle around town.' That's what Rabbit [his nickname] liked to do."
So ends his life.
What's the definition or objective element that determines that there was a "use of force". For instance, at the state hospital if you grab the arm of a patient momentarily to guide them through a door, that can be justifiably called "use of restraints" (I think I read that in the inspection reports they did on the state hospital awhile back).
I can get punching someone is obviously a "Use of Force". But, how is "use of force" determined? Does a different standard apply when it is only an officer and the enforcee that is present? Are all the officers on the same page as to what a "use of force" is? Are we?
I'm concerned that some officers might report it more than other officers but they might not have exerted as much force as their fellow officers that didn't report it. It's important to know the controls that are in place before we start counting and tracking all of the "use of force" reports of officers.
I see there's not much agreement
http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/default.asp?item…
Also, is there a measuring device on how much force is used? Something quantifiable or ranking in a "use of force" report?
I think it should be monitored. But, be careful about making decisions about a subjective statistic.
When we get into "use of force" questions, how will the answers be quantified?
How many foot-pounds of energy were used in grasping a person's wrist, or twisting his arm, or holding him on the ground?
As a resident-in-training who had not yet been advised of the circumstances, I once grasped the hand of a client who had started to walk out of a group therapy session. She meekly and willingly returned to her seat and remained to the end of the session.
My supervisors were horrified that I had "physically restrained" this client. Being in ignorance of policy, I wasn't aware of the jeopardy I had placed us in for potential law suit.
Fortunately, I guess, the client wasn't aware of the policy either. She never lodged a complaint, let alone a suit.
Lucky me/us!
I would like to know if complaints about racial discrimination are also filed as personnel matters. My suspicion is they are. Judge Griffen should be applauded for a sound legal decision that requires more openness from government, especially from the department that hands out guns.
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