HARTFORD, Conn —
A judge heard arguments Tuesday on a request to block the release of trooper names believed to be involved in the ticketing scandal of the Connecticut State Police.
The Connecticut Freedom of Information Act was enacted in 1975 as a way for any member of the public, media or not, to gain access to governmental records for the purposes of transparency and accountability. There are, however, limited exemptions that would allow the denial of a FOIA request.
“I will take this under consideration and you will receive notice of my decision,” stated Hon. Rupal Shah, a Hartford Superior Court Judge. To release or not release the names has been the subject of much debate and now litigation.
“We're not in the business of trying to protect troopers who did something wrong. We are in the business of trying to protect troopers who didn’t do anything wrong,” said Atty—Jeff Ment, who represents the CT State Police Union.
The arguments were on the injunction to block the public release of 130 names and badge numbers of troopers believed to have falsified thousands of traffic tickets to skew state racial profiling data.
“It seems abundantly unsafe to disclose names of people who next week, next month may be cleared because this is all being continually reviewed,” explained Ment.
The union argues that of those 130 names, 20 have already been cleared of wrongdoing. The union argument leaned on the sensitivity of ongoing investigations, and they also say a release of names could jeopardize trooper safety, citing a social media threat against the agency that is now the subject of a criminal investigation.
“It’s well known within the agency that a threat has been made that could endanger the lives of the people on the list, some of whom may have done absolutely nothing wrong,” explained Ment.
On the other side of the argument are media agencies. The Connecticut Mirror and The Day newspapers specifically. Their attorneys argue that the superior court doesn’t have the legal authority or jurisdiction to make a ruling in the case at all.
“You are opening a door so people can run to the superior court if people think there is an issue that’s going to come out the wrong way…That’s not the way this statute has been designed to work,” said Atty. William Fish.
Kevin Munn, an attorney from the Freedom of Information Commission added that the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, the agency that oversees the state police, doesn’t have the sole authority and didn’t follow proper steps to deny a FOIA request.
“What the plaintiff is asking the court to do here would essentially scrap the entire process. Scrap what the statute says and what the Supreme Court says is supposed to happen when this exemption is at play and order DESPP to claim an exemption that it isn’t even authorized to claim in the first place,” said Atty. Munn.
Attorneys for the media agencies say the primary authority on FOIA issues should be the Connecticut Freedom of Information Act Commission. If you are interested in learning about the limited list of exemptions an agency can cite to avoid releasing a public record, click here.
Matt Caron is a reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at mcaron@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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