Pubdate: Fri, 09 Jan 2004
Source: Ledger-Enquirer (GA)
Copyright: 2004 Ledger-Enquirer
Contact:  http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/mld/enquirer/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/237
Author: Chuck Williams, Staff Writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/raids.htm (Drug Raids)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Kenneth+Walker (Walker, Kenneth)

SHOOTING INVESTIGATION RECORDS STILL NOT PUBLIC

Newspaper, TV Station Say Some Of The Records Are Not Protected

Efforts by two local news organizations to gain access to additional 
information in the shooting death of Kenneth B. Walker failed Thursday.

In a hearing in Muscogee Superior Court, Chief Judge Kenneth Followill did 
not act on a request by the Ledger-Enquirer and WRBL-TV 3 to release 
additional details and tapes surrounding the Dec. 10 incident. The judge 
said it was "premature" to rule because Walker's death is still under 
investigation by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Federal Bureau of 
Investigation and the Muscogee County Sheriff's Department.

The judge left open the possibility of making a decision later, but, in the 
meantime, he came down on the side of the law enforcement agencies and 
their ability to protect information during an investigation.

"As long as these investigations are pending, I think those files are 
protected," Followill said.

The decision has the effect of keeping the information from public 
inspection. The judge cited case law that he said gives law enforcement 
agencies broad authority to protect information involved in an 
investigation. The attorney for the news agencies argued that the Georgia 
Open Records Act calls for narrow interpretation of what public documents 
can be withheld from public view.

Walker, 39, was unarmed when a Muscogee County deputy sheriff fatally shot 
him beside Interstate 185 during the stop of a vehicle that law enforcement 
officials believed may have been carrying armed drug dealers.

Walker and three other Columbus men were pulled from the GMC Yukon. No 
drugs or weapons were found.

The name of the deputy who shot Walker and many details surrounding the 
shooting have not been released.

Two days after the shooting, the Ledger-Enquirer asked the sheriff for the 
following information under the Open Records Act:

. The initial law-enforcement report on the shooting.

. The names of the men detained in the initial stop of Walker's vehicle.

. Video and digital photographs relating to the incident.

. Audio recordings relating to the incident.

. The personnel file of a Muscogee County sheriff's deputy.

Subsequently, the newspaper asked for more information, including the 911 
tapes related to the shooting.

Authorities have released the initial incident report prepared by the 
sheriff's department. It did not contain any names of deputies involved in 
the shooting and offered little information.

The news organizations went to Superior Court on Thursday to force the 
Muscogee County Sheriff's Department, Sheriff Ralph Johnson, the Columbus 
Police Department and Chief Willie Dozier to release the records. Johnson 
and Dozier attended the hearing and were represented by City Attorney 
Clifton Fay.

Neal Callahan, representing the two news organizations, argued that for the 
law enforcement agencies to withhold the information, there has to be an 
ongoing criminal investigation. Fay said it is a criminal investigation.

Fay also said that the sheriff had received a letter this week from the 
U.S. Justice Department requesting all Muscogee County Sheriff's Office 
investigative documents, including the Internal Affairs report on the 
Walker shooting. "This request is made pursuant to an on-going 
investigation in this matter...," the letter states.

Callahan argued the public's right to know was an overriding factor in the 
release of information. He said the news organizations had showed restraint 
waiting for the month-long investigations to run their course.

Ledger-Enquirer Executive Editor Mike Burbach took exception to Followill's 
decision.

"We respect that there are at least two investigations, state and federal, 
into the death of Kenneth Walker, and we respect the anguish of all 
involved," Burbach said.

"Nonetheless, we believe that the judge's decision today was overly broad," 
he said. "It made no distinction among the various records we were seeking, 
and simply concluded that because there's an investigation, all the records 
should remain out of public view. The logical extension of that position is 
this: Any public record, regardless of its content, regardless of its 
purpose, regardless of the date of its creation, can be withheld simply 
because the government contends that it's part of some investigation. That 
seems contrary to Georgia's open records law, which clearly asserts that 
exemptions to openness should be narrowly construed. I mean no disrespect 
for Judge Followill. I just think he's wrong in this case."

Burbach said he doesn't know yet what the newspaper's next legal move might be.

"But we're going to continue to press for public access to public 
information about public business," he said.

About a dozen members of the sheriff's department and police department 
command staffs attended the hearing. Attorney Richard Hagler, who is 
representing the deputy who shot Walker, also attended.
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