The Evening News and The Tribune has filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act for a transcript of the 911 call from Tyler Dumstorf’s home, where two Floyd County police officers were shot June 18. That request was denied Thursday by Floyd County Prosecutor Keith Henderson, who said he didn’t plan to release the tape until the investigation into the shooting was complete.
It has been the opinion of the Hoosier State Press Association — a trade organization for Indiana newspapers — that 911 calls are public record and should be released because they are “not a record created in the course of an investigation,” according to the HSPA Web site, www.hspa.com.
However, The Access to Public Records Act provides for public officials to “regulate any material interference with the regular discharge of the functions or duties of the public agency or public employees,” according to Indiana Code 5-14-3-7(a).
Stephen Key, general counsel for HSPA, explained this code by saying it would be unreasonable for a newspaper to expect a 911 tape a few hours or a day after such an incident, because of the police work involved so soon after the event. He equated it to going to a county clerk’s office the day before an election and requesting documents. It would be reasonable for the clerk’s office to cite workload as a denial of the request for the short term.
Key said, however, that Henderson should provide a date to which he will provide the 911 tape.
Henderson also cited the serious nature of the case during a Thursday press conference as a reason he was being careful with evidence he was using in the investigation.
Key said that shouldn’t matter as far as the 911 tape is concerned. The nature of the case doesn’t change the nature of the record, he said. The Evening News and The Tribune today will file a similar request for the 911 tapes with the Floyd County Sheriff’s Department.
Key said there isn’t legal precedent in Indiana for 911-tape requests, but that in states with similar open-records laws to Indiana’s, the court has sided with the media and ordered 911 tapes to be released by governmental agencies.
Such a ruling can be found with Evening Post Publishing Co. v. City of North Charleston, S.C., (April 4, 2005). The South Carolina Supreme Court ordered a 911 call tape released, despite the city’s claims it would jeopardize an upcoming murder trial.
In contrast, portions of 911 call tapes from the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in New York City were blocked from release.
More information on those two cases can be found here: www.gannett.com/go/newswatch/2005/april/nw0422-7.htm.
Clark County
Request denied on 911 tape from Dumstorf shooting
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