Police records

A Wisconsin city must release the complete personnel file of a local police officer convicted of drunk driving in a settlement reached with the Herald Times Reporter.

The Michigan Court of Appeals ruled recently that a Detroit police officers union could not contract around the state’s open records laws in an employment contract.

Using the state's open records law, the Detroit Free Press had sought a photograph of a police officer that had been suspended after allegations he was taking department money from an anti-car theft program. The police officer's union filed a lawsuit trying to stop the release of the photo.

The chief of police in Alexandria, Va., was arrested last month on a DUI charge in neighboring Arlington County. A local event, but as the Alexandria Gazette Packet reports, the fallout points to a statewide and even national concern: What's to be done when police agencies hide even basic evidence of their work from public scrutiny?

Internal affairs records in police agencies are public, the Illinois Appellate Court in Springfield ruled last week, in a citizen's lawsuit over records of past complaints against a police officer he claims mistreated him during a traffic stop.

A 35-year-old court order barring the state of Tennessee from publicly releasing the arrest records of people suspected, but not charged or convicted, of committing crimes was overturned Thursday by the U.S. Court of Appeals in Cincinnati (6th Cir.)

In a Sunday Washington Post column,  David Simon -- the former Baltimore Sun police reporter and creator of HBO’s acclaimed police drama The Wire -- argues that as more newspapers make cuts or close their doors, a lack of access to information and acceptance of the official line will become that much more common.

Police in Savannah, Ga. reached an agreement with a local newspaper on Monday in a dispute over records the news media wanted routinely released to the public. 

The Savannah-Chatham department has agreed to start releasing a blanket daily list of all police reports, which will in turn be available online during weekdays and by hard copy when requested, according to Savannah Morning News.

South Carolina news groups are speaking out against a local sheriff's office that is refusing to release crime information after business hours, according to The Associated Press.