From: believer@telepath.com Subject: IP: Killed by Police? Keep it Secret Date: Sat, 19 Sep 1998 10:12:07 -0500 To: believer@telepath.com Source: Rocky Mountain News http://www.insidedenver.com/news/0919secr1.shtml Secrecy pushed in killings by police But critics say names of officers should always be made public By Kevin Vaughan Rocky Mountain News Staff Writer A move is afoot in Colorado to keep the names of police officers who shoot people secret. A Greeley judge this week ruled that the public has no right to know which officers shot and killed four people over the past two years. "That seems like sort of the ultimate double standard to me, because I can shoot and kill someone in my house in self-defense, and my name will be open as a matter of public record," said Chris Cobler, managing editor of the Greeley Tribune. The paper had sued the Greeley Police Department, the Weld County Sheriff's Department and the district attorney's office to obtain the officers' names. At least one legislator praised Weld District Judge Jonathan Hays' Wednesday ruling. "I am strongly opposed to releasing the names of those officers that have not been found accountable, or found guilty, in a shooting," said state Sen. Ken Arnold, R-Westminster. Arnold spent 28 years with the Colorado State Patrol before becoming a lawmaker. The State Patrol and most other Colorado police agencies release the names of officers involved in shootings -- some agencies immediately, others in weeks or months. But newspaper editors and the American Civil Liberties Union worry that the disclosure practice may soon end because of the ruling. In Aurora, Police Chief Vern Saint Vincent has refused to identify two officers who killed a gunman in a domestic dispute a week ago, citing the same legal provisions the Greeley judge used. Saint Vincent said his decision is temporary, and he plans to identify the officers after investigating threats against them. But he may change his mind. He said he expects his officers to lobby for secrecy and that he'll consider it. "There simply can't be a right to privacy for someone with the full authority of a law enforcement officer who has used deadly force against a citizen," said Tom Kelley, an attorney for the Colorado Press Association. "You could make the argument that anyone accused of a crime has a right to privacy, which I don't think anyone would take very seriously." At issue is the interpretation of two state laws governing the release of public records and criminal-justice documents. The laws spell out what the public has a right to see. Hays ruled that police shootings are not "official actions" as defined by the Criminal Justice Records Act. As such, they fall under an area of the law that allows police and sheriff's departments to withhold information that is "contrary to the public interest." Identifying the officers, Hays wrote, "plays no significant, positive role in the functioning of the criminal-justice process." But one of the state's top cops doesn't see it that way. "I just have this problem with the idea that that should be a blanket policy," said Pat Ahlstrom, executive director of the state Department of Public Safety. "We don't see it that way. They're public officers, and the act of using force and deadly force is subject to public scrutiny." The department oversees the State Patrol and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. A check of other law enforcement agencies in the Denver area found that all routinely release the names of officers in shootings. "There's really no reason for us not to release the names," said Adams County sheriff's Sgt. Mike Kercheval. Different agencies have different rules about when the names are released. For some, it comes within 24 hours of a shooting. Others wait longer. Lakewood, for example, withholds the name of an officer involved in a shooting until the investigation is finished. "It is the same procedure that is afforded any citizen in Lakewood that is investigated in a shooting," police spokeswoman Lynn Kimbrough said. "For us, it is not a matter of 'if.' It is simply a matter of 'when."' Cobler said the Tribune has no plan to appeal this week's ruling. But others said they expect an effort to change it, either through an appeal or by attempting to change the laws to make them clearer. "Let's change the statute," said Mark Silverstein, legal director of the ACLU of Colorado. Arnold, however, said he trusts police and prosecutors to investigate shootings thoroughly. September 19, 1998 ----------------------- NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ----------------------- ********************************************** To subscribe or unsubscribe, email: majordomo@majordomo.pobox.com with the message: (un)subscribe ignition-point email@address ********************************************** www.telepath.com/believer **********************************************