State Supreme Court Rules Police Misconduct Records Can Be Made Public
In a landmark decision, the Washington State Supreme court ruled this morning that internal investigations of misconduct among police officers must be made public.
The decision stems from a 2007 report of misconduct, where a female suspect accused Bainbridge Island Police Officer Steven Cain of extreme misbehavior. Cain allegedly ground his crotch against the suspect during the arrest and later "choked her until she defecated out of fear."
Both the Puyallup and Mercer Island Police Departments conducted investigations and ultimately exonerated Cain, citing "insufficient evidence to establish any inappropriate behavior" by the officer. However, the case still attracted media attention, and when several journalists attempted to obtain copies of the investigation reports, Cain and the Bainbridge Island Police Department filed a complaint on the grounds that it violated Cain's privacy.
The State Supreme Court agreed with the complaint - to an extent. The court found that while the officer's right to privacy was a legitimate concern, the public interest in such a case was also considerable:
"Although lacking a legitimate interest in the name of a police officer who is the subject of an unsubstantiated allegation of sexual misconduct, the public does have a legitimate interest in how a police department responds to and investigates such allegations against an officer."
The court ruled with these considerations in mind, finding that internal investigation records could be released, even if the allegations were not sustained, as long as the officer's name was redacted.
The ruling has widespread implications, particularly for Seattle, where City Attorney Pete Holmes and the Seattle Police Officer's Guild squared off earlier this year over a similar case. Back in May, Holmes threatened to sue to overturn an arbitrator's decision that the names of all Seattle police officers must be redacted in record requests, resulting in the Office of Professional Accountability refusing several requests until the dispute was resolved. The Supreme Court's ruling will most likely compel the OPA to comply with record requests.
While the SPOG will most likely be displeased with yesterday's ruling (we're expecting Guild President Rich O'Neill to voice his displeasure any time now), the court's decision met with the approval at least a few officials. In a statement released early Thursday afternoon, Councilmember Nick Licata commented, "“This decision sheds some much needed light on the murky issue about where the line protecting legitimate privacy interests of public employees’ ends and where the public’s right to know begins."
