The gentleman above probably is not how most of us define "gang member," yet when I searched for Utah gang images on Google, this is one of the photographs which appeared.

Some of the defense attorneys I spoke with last week would use this as a point. How do we know who is being called a gang member?

Reporter Melinda Rogers and I asked that in an article about gang databases and a forthcoming statewide database. The federal government regulates who police input into such a database and how those names can remain.

If you want to know whether you're in the database, the easiest thing to do is call your local police jurisdiction and ask. If you don't receive an answer, you can file a request under the Utah Government Records Access and Management Act. But that may not yield your answer, either.

The act grants you some records when you are the subject. But the law also permits law enforcement to withhold records deemed part of ongoing investigations.

— NC

Labels: GRAMA, Police, technology

The Salt Lake City Police Department has written a four-page policy on how the new Pioneer Park cameras are to be used.

A PDF of that policy can be found here.

The policy does not address what happens when someone outside the police department wants a copy of the video.

When I asked police Chief Chris Burbank about this Wednesday, he described the recordings as "private" information, similar to that of calls to a police dispatcher.

But I have received copies of Salt Lake City dispatch recordings before via a GRAMA request.

Martha Stonebrook, a senior attorney for the city, gave a more-measured response when I called her Wednesday. She said requests would be reviewed on a "case-by-case basis." That's in tune with GRAMA.

The law says records are public unless they are expressly exempt from disclosure. The catch is there are lots of statutes that can be interpreted — correctly as not — as closing a record. Hypothetically, the city could deny record requests for video footage and argue the footage invades someone's personal privacy.*

But that would seem to play into the hands of the ACLU, which has made a similar argument against having cameras at all.

The city may be on firmer ground if someone requested footage of a suspected crime. GRAMA makes exemptions for evidence in a criminal case.

— NC


* I am not an attorney and frequently remind myself of that.

Labels: Crime, GRAMA, Police, SLC

Today's article describing what happened during the Sept. 22 standoff in Farmington was written almost entirely from records I requested from the city.

I thought I was pretty aggressive requesting them shortly after the attorney general's office ended its inquiry into the shooting. But my colleagues had the same idea, and on Thursday I was livid when I looked at the Standard-Examiner.

That newspaper had an article about the contents of the documents. It turns out the city of Farmington had given the Examiner hard copies of the written reports by mistake. I had to wait until 4 p.m. Friday to receive digital copies of those reports as well as photographs and audio recordings.

It's tough for me to complain. Almost five years ago to the day, I broke a story for the Columbia (Mo.) Daily Tribune in much the same way. Good job, Examiner.



There may be more documents coming in the Farmington standoff. The city has withheld hundreds of pages and some photographs, citing various statutes which the city feels exempts those documents from disclosure. I have not read the city's explanation letter and determined whether I will appeal.

— NC


The top photograph shows Brian P. Wood's truck after the standoff. The powder is from pepper balls, rubber bullets or other non-lethal munitions. The lower photograph shows one of the SWAT officers from that night. He was photographed for evidence purposes. Both photos were provided by the city of Farmington.

Labels: Police

Two months after her original record request was denied, Hilarie Orman has an appeal hearing Tuesday in front of the Utah County Commission.

Orman, of the Spanish Fork News, has had a few bumps on her way to what should be a routine matter.

As I wrote in October, Orman requested reports on a trespassing case and a motorcycle crash. The Utah County Sheriff's Office denied her request, claiming the reports are protected under the law and therefore not public.

Orman appealed the decision to the Utah County Commission. It should take no more than a couple weeks to schedule an appeal hearing. Here's what happened, according to an e-mail from Orman.

I filed my appeal with the Utah County Commission in mid-October and have called about it weekly since. The county commission forwarded it to Utah County Attorney a few weeks after receiving my fax.

The county attorney's office assigned it to someone on vacation. Then Diane Orcutt, the head of the civil division... told me that she was reviewing the records and that I would hear from her soon, within a few days.

The next week her secretary said that a hearing was being scheduled and that I would hear from her "shortly". The next week I called the county commission asking if the hearing had been scheduled, and they told me it had.

I asked why I hadn't been told and what day and time were involved. They said to call Diane Orcutt. Her secretary said it was for December 9, and that I would hear this from Diane "shortly". I said that I had a business meeting in Boston that day and asked to have it postponed to December 16. They said OK, and took the message. I still have not received any formal notice of a hearing, but I plan to call them next week when I return from Boston.

After Orman's hearing, the commission can order the records released or uphold the sheriff's decision. If Orman is unsatisfied with the commission's ruling, she can appeal to the State Records Committee.

— NC

Labels: GRAMA, Police, Utah County

I spent Wednesday writing about a lawsuit filed against Ogden police officer Ken Hammond. At one point, I added this line to the article.

Shortly after the Trolley Square shootings, the city of Ogden, in answering a records request from The Tribune, said it had no records of discipline against Hammond.

That's right. While everyone else, including my own newspaper, was referring to Hammond as a "hero," I tried to find out if he had ever screwed up.

Discipline records are public records under the Utah Government Records Access and Management Act. Ogden was a little slow to respond, but eventually told me it had no records of discipline against Hammond; i.e. he had not been disciplined.

It's not that I wanted to just dig dirt on Hammond. I just wanted a more-complete picture of him.

That 1 1/2-year-old request now may be in Hammond's favor. It rebuts plaintiffs attorneys' claims there have been prior misconduct problems with Hammond.

— NC

Labels: GRAMA, Police

Election-related documents usually include voter registration cards, voter rolls and records of campaign contributions.

I never thought a police report would be related to an election. But that's life in American politics.

The report below is from the Uintah County Sheriff's Office. It discusses one episode in the investigation into the 2006 Daggett County Sheriff's Election.

— NC

UintahSheriffreport.pdf

Labels: Candidates, Police

Salt Lake City Police Chief Chris Burbank has seven friends.

At least, that's what his department's MySpace page said this morning, a few minutes after the I received an e-mail announcing the creation of the site.

Right now, the page is pretty blank. But in the release, Burbank promises "pictures, videos and blogs about and by the more than 700 men and women of the Department on our MySpace page.”

Ooh. I can hardly wait.

In the meantime, if you're considering "friending" the SLCPD, you might also consider what that means — they'll be able to access all your photos, blogs entries, music and a list of all your other MySpace posse members.

I'm not saying you've got anything to hide, but do you really want Burbank leafing through all those photos you took in Cancun last summer?

Yeah, I didn't think so.

-mdl

Labels: Police, SLC, spotlight site, technology