BY: Tristan Baurick
kitsapsun.com
BAINBRIDGE ISLAND — In a decision that's being hailed as a victory for public access to police records, the Washington Supreme Court ruled Thursday against a Bainbridge Island Police Guild effort to block the release of investigations into the alleged misconduct of a Bainbridge police officer.
The decision asserts that the public release of investigative records does not violate the privacy of an officer accused of misconduct but never charged.The public "does have a legitimate interest in how a police department responds to and investigates a (sexual misconduct) allegation against an officer," the decision states.
Open government lawyer Michele Earl-Hubbard called the decision a "practical victory."
"It gives us a way to get some records and have some oversight, and not leave us completely in the dark," she said.
The ruling stems from a complaint from Bainbridge attorney Kim Koenig alleging that Bainbridge Officer Steve Cain choked and sexually assaulted her during a traffic stop in September 2007. Koenig was arrested for resisting arrest and obstructing an officer but was never charged.
Bainbridge police requested that the Puyallup Police Department conduct a criminal investigation and that the Mercer Island Police Department conduct an internal investigation into Cain's conduct.The Kitsap Sun acquired the Puyallup investigation through a public records request. The investigation found no probable cause that Cain committed a criminal offense.
The police guild and Cain sued to have the Sun's request for the Mercer Island report and all other subsequent requests for both the Puyallup and Mercer Island reports be denied, arguing that the investigations' details are of no legitimate concern to the public because Koenig's accusations were found to have no merit. Public disclosure of the investigations would also violate Cain's privacy and interfere with his ability to do his job, the guild's attorney argued.
The Kitsap Count Superior Court agreed, ruling in favor of the guild in 2008.Subsequent requests for the investigations by Koenig, blogger Althea Paulson, who wrote about Koenig's arrest, and island resident Larry Koss were denied.
The Superior Court refused the guild's request to block the Sun from publishing information obtained from the Puyallup investigation.
In the investigation, another Bainbridge officer stated that Cain had a "sustained accusation of having sex with a suspect" during the 1990s.
Puyallup investigators found no record of the incident in Cain's personnel file.
Koenig, Paulson and Koss appealed court orders from Pierce and King counties blocking the release of the investigations.
The Supreme Court's ruling overturns the lower court decisions and orders the release of the investigations.
The court determined that Cain's identity should be redacted when the documents are released.
Four of the justices agreed that disclosure with Cain's name redacted was the right decision, while four others, including Chief Justice Barbara Madsen, argued that the full document should be released. Justice James Johnson said the entire document should be kept private.
Earl-Hubbard, who wrote a friend-of-the-court brief arguing for disclosure, said she has seen an increasing trend of law enforcement departments withholding documents.
The ruling will allow the public to get a closer look at internal investigations, although she is concerned that redacting the names of the accused will make it difficult to expose officers who have multiple complaints filed against them.
Guild attorney Bob Christie said he would have liked to see the courts support the privacy of the full records but believes the redactions will provide some protection for police officers.
Read more: http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2011/aug/18/state-supreme-court-rules-for-disclosure-of/#ixzz1VX1PuBKG
