Nov 9, 2009 7:27 pm US/Eastern
NJ Court: Use-of-force Reports Are Public Records
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) ―
A New Jersey appeals court panel has ruled that police use-of-force reports are public records.
The opinion by a three-judge Appellate Division panel upholds a 2008 Superior Court ruling that said West Milford must turn over use-of-force reports to resident Martin O'Shea, an open records activist.
Police officers in New Jersey are required to file a report whenever they use force, whether physical or involving a weapon.
The town claimed the records should be exempt from New Jersey's Open Public Records Act as "criminal investigatory records."
But lawyers for O'Shea, the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey and North Jersey Media Group argued that access to the reports can help the public evaluate whether police use of force was justified.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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