The Connecticut Supreme Court has resolved an intense debate about what law enforcement agencies are required to release with regard to arrest records and associated reports. This decision could affect the ability of school boards, municipalities and other public bodies to investigate employee and student misconduct.
The Court’s decision in Commissioner of Public Safety v. FOIC, 312 Conn. 513 (July 15, 2014) involved a matter in which a newspaper requested a copy of records concerning the arrest of an individual for allegedly assaulting an elderly person. In response, the Department of Public Safety [“DPS”] sent the newspaper a copy of the official DPS press release pertaining to the incident. The newspaper filed a complaint with Connecticut’s Freedom of Information Commission [“FOIC”], and the FOIC ordered DPS to disclose most of the actual police report.
The dichotomy between DPS’ position and the FOIC’s order arose from their differing interpretations of the Freedom of Information Act [“FOIA”], specifically Section 1-215 of the Connecticut General Statutes, which provides in part that “records of the arrest” of any person (other than those of a juvenile or where the record is “erased”) are public records that are subject to disclosure. Conn. Gen. Stat. §1-215(a). The FOIA goes on to provide, however, that a law enforcement agency could comply with this mandate merely by providing: (1) the name and address of the person arrested, the date, time and place of the arrest and the offense for which the person was arrested, and (2) at least one of the following, designated by the law enforcement agency: The arrest report, incident report, news release or other similar report of the arrest of a person. Conn. Gen. Stat. §1-215(b)(emphasis added). On its face, then, law enforcement could choose to comply with the FOIA by simply issuing a press release that provides minimal “police blotter” style information as opposed to the actual arrest or incident report, at least during the pendency of a criminal prosecution. Gifford v. FOIC, 227 Conn. 641 (1993).
Despite this statutory language, the FOIC asserted that in addition to the disclosures required under Conn. Gen. Stat. §1-215, any other law enforcement records (for example, the actual reports, mug shots, documentary evidence) compiled in connection with the investigation of a crime must also be disclosed unless the law enforcement agency proves that disclosure would not be in the public...
