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Little Rock fights for police records secrecy in civil rights lawsuit
Last edited Thu Dec 10, 2015, 10:01 AM - Edit history (1)
By Max Brantley
Josh Hastings (left) who killed Bobby Moore (right)
KARK reports that the city of Little Rock is attempting to put under seal information about allegations of misconduct by police officers in the civil rights lawsuit over the shooting death of 15-year-old Bobby Moore in 2012.
Moore, suspected of breaking into cars at a west Little Rock apartment complex, was fatally shot by Officer Josh Hastings as he tried to drive away. He was charged with manslaughter, but the prosecution was dropped after two mistrials. Hastings was fired.
The family of Moore has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit. KARK says:
This touches an old sore point — the legal means by which it is just about impossible to reach important information about police conduct. Under state law, personnel record release is severely restricted. Records of misconduct can be released only when it leads to suspension or firing. As I argued when the law was changed to allow this during Bill Clinton's administration, this was an open door to cover up a pattern and practice of physical abuse by police officers, particularly in corrupt departments were supervisors would rarely discipline an officer for physical abuse of a suspect. So it is very difficult to know when an officer is repeatedly accused of physical abuse if cleared each time. One-on-one encounters in the dark of night with few or no witnesses rarely produce disciplinary judgments against officers, it's safe to say. Benefit of the doubt goes to the officer who says the action was response to a threat. Which indeed might be true in most cases. But some officers lead the force with little need to use force, while others use it often.
Moore, suspected of breaking into cars at a west Little Rock apartment complex, was fatally shot by Officer Josh Hastings as he tried to drive away. He was charged with manslaughter, but the prosecution was dropped after two mistrials. Hastings was fired.
The family of Moore has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit. KARK says:
The city wants records of police officer discipline and citizen complaints, among others, to be shielded by a protective order. The city claims employee privacy interest, but the family of Bobby Moore argues Little Rock officials are trying to keep negative information out of public view.
This touches an old sore point — the legal means by which it is just about impossible to reach important information about police conduct. Under state law, personnel record release is severely restricted. Records of misconduct can be released only when it leads to suspension or firing. As I argued when the law was changed to allow this during Bill Clinton's administration, this was an open door to cover up a pattern and practice of physical abuse by police officers, particularly in corrupt departments were supervisors would rarely discipline an officer for physical abuse of a suspect. So it is very difficult to know when an officer is repeatedly accused of physical abuse if cleared each time. One-on-one encounters in the dark of night with few or no witnesses rarely produce disciplinary judgments against officers, it's safe to say. Benefit of the doubt goes to the officer who says the action was response to a threat. Which indeed might be true in most cases. But some officers lead the force with little need to use force, while others use it often.
Snip
http://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2015/12/10/little-rock-fights-for-police-records-secrecy-in-civil-rights-lawsuit