This is an important case to the law enforcement community, presenting the issue of whether the internal investigation file of a police officer is subject to disclosure under Washington’s Public Records Act where the complaints against the officer were not sustained. We represent the Bainbridge Police Guild and an individual officer in three separate lawsuits (one in each county where the records were located) that we brought seeking to prevent a newspaper and several citizens from obtaining investigative materials were the officer was cleared of alleged wrongdoing, successfully arguing in each case that his person right of privacy was more important than the public’s right of access. The Supreme Court accepted review of the case and it was argued on November 16, 2010. To view the argument, click here. We hope the decision will result in a bright line rule in favor of a law enforcement officer’s privacy rights and establish that, absent a finding against the officer, investigation materials are not subject to public disclosure.
