A ruling issued on Thursday by the Delaware Attorney General’s Office determined that the City of Dover violated the state’s Freedom of Information Act. The decision states that the City failed to demonstrate that it appropriately denied access to records requested by a journalist.
The petition followed a September 26 request from Spotlight Delaware reporter Maggie Reynolds. She sought emails, text messages and written communications sent to or received by Mayor Robin Christiansen and Police Chief Thomas Johnson beginning May 1. The request asked for records containing the keywords “FOP,” “Fraternal Order of Police,” “no confidence,” “resign,” “Mullaney,” “Penn State,” “PSU,” “NOCAP,” “town hall,” “Lewis,” “Brian,” “Sudler,” “Roy,” “Fenwick Island” and “city vehicle.” The City denied access and cited the potential litigation exemption as well as the statutory exemption for internal affairs records.
The Attorney General’s Office reviewed the City’s response. The opinion notes that Dover did not provide sworn statements or other competent evidence to support the exemptions it asserted. It states that the City referenced complaints filed with the Department of Justice and the Internal Affairs Commander, but did not meet the burden of showing a clear nexus between those matters and the requested records. The opinion also finds that the City did not provide sufficient evidence to demonstrate that any responsive records were compiled as part of an internal affairs investigation.
The ruling concludes that the City violated FOIA and should review the responsive records again. It instructs Dover to determine whether any documents, or portions of documents, should be made available and to supplement its response in accordance with the timelines set by state law.
