A conservative public policy organization has filed a lawsuit on behalf of a St. Louis property owner, alleging the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department repeatedly violated Missouri’s Sunshine Law by delaying and withholding public records.
The lawsuit, filed Oct. 8 by the Arizona-based Goldwater Institute, names the department, records custodian Barbara Manuel and the state-appointed Board of Police Commissioners as defendants.
The case stems from an April 26 incident at a short-term rental property owned by John Thomas. According to the lawsuit filed in St. Louis City Circuit Court, at least four police vehicles drove past the property after someone reported that the building had been condemned. Officers stopped to question guests staying there, leaving them unnerved, even though a check of police records found no evidence that the building had been condemned.
Thomas requested police records about the incident on April 29, but the department did not respond until July 6, according to the lawsuit. It provided some records on Sept. 14, but Thomas had yet to receive everything he requested when the lawsuit was filed.
“When police departments withhold or delay production of public records, they strip citizens of their ability to hold government officials accountable,” said Dave Roland, director of allied litigation at the Goldwater Institute.
The lawsuit seeks the remaining records, reimbursement of $183.77 Thomas paid in processing fees and civil penalties for alleged knowing or purposeful violations of the Sunshine Law.