Judge slams Tacoma for not releasing stingray records
A judge in Washington state has excoriated the Tacoma Police Department for withholding public records pertaining to its use of cell-site simulators, also known as stingrays. Back in 2016, the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington state sued the TPD on behalf of four community leaders, arguing that the department has not adequately responded to their public records requests concerning the use of stingrays, which included asking for a blank form authorizing its use.
"The [Public Records Act] establishes a positive duty to disclose public records unless they fall within specific exemptions," Judge G. Helen Whitener wrote in her Monday opinion. "This mandates that the City, upon receiving a request for documents, must first do an adequate search and then must produce the documents requested if there is not an exemption. The PRA does not require the City to analyze the reasons why the document is requested or to determine the relevance of the documents requested even if they are blank forms. The blank form taken in context of the other forms may have meaning to the requestor, and it is not for the City to analyze its relevance. To adopt the City's interpretation of the PRA would defeat the broad mandate of the PRA to allow access to public records not covered by and exemption."
(Score: 2) by edIII on Tuesday July 03 2018, @05:23PM
LOL. It's not that scary. We also have three Rottweilers on the property. Largest animal that comes around is a Puma, and I don't recall anyone saying they've seen a Jaguar. There are about 12 local people that live in the mountain valley with us. All friendly people too, and the kids love taking lemons off our trees. It's just very remote.
One of the locals, that's a family friend too, lives with us. Certified nurse, and we are a small substation for medical. So if I got bit, I would walk a couple hundred feet, sit down on a bench, and wait to be treated :)
Honestly, I'm more worried about mountain lions in Northern California.
Technically, lunchtime is at any moment. It's just a wave function.