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Public Records

Police Records on misconduct, false testimony, beatings and shootings are secrets from coast to coast

The often used adage that police can lie whenever they want and get away with it is in a sense legally true. This stems from the legal concealment of truth, the literal blinding of justice and strident defense of the laws that make this possible. There are politicians on both sides of the shrinking aisle that seek every chance to extend rather than curtail the secrecy. It is not vampiric America that simply does not appear in mirrors, but Medusa America that would certainly petrify if confronted with it's own horrific gaze.

 

Mockingbird Publishing to sue the Village of Yellow Springs for withholding public records

7 weeks ago the staff of the Mockingbird began a series of public records requests. There are over 5 outstanding requests right now. We have been met with denials, lies and obfuscation on all of our requests. The law on the matter reads “reasonable amount of time” and in my life I have never seen so much gas lighting, obfuscation and denial. The typical time is ten days.

 

Examining the Gaps in Yellow Springs Police Records

For over a year, researchers at the Mockingbird have requested and received records from both the Yellow Springs Police Department and Village Administration. The gradual compilation and comparison of these personnel files, emails, hours of video, and court transcript painted a picture of an an inconsistently organized, selectively recorded, and ominously empty file tracking system. Incidents that should mark an important moments in officers’ careers are missing. Of the documents received, some stood out. Not because of what was in them, but because of what was not in them.