Ponca City settled an open records lawsuit brought by Oklahoma Watch and former Oklahoma Watch reporter Whitney Bryen, agreeing that the requested police records were public information and should not have been withheld.
The arrest records Bryen requested were provided without narratives, the part of a police incident report that describes what happened. The Oklahoma Open Records Act requires that a brief description of the incident be available to the public.
The city acknowledged the records should have been made available and agreed to pay $12,500 in attorney’s fees.
“This is a big win for transparency and accountability in Oklahoma,” said Beth Soja, a senior staff attorney at the Reporters Committee who worked on the case. “Thanks to this settlement, law enforcement agencies in the state are going to think twice before deciding to withhold arrest information from the public.”
Soja said she’s grateful for the efforts of Bryen and Oklahoma Watch to challenge the denial because it will likely lead to greater transparency across the state.
“This case shows the tremendous importance of local news in holding public officials accountable,” added Leslie Briggs, the Reporters Committee’s new Local Legal Initiative attorney for Oklahoma. “It means other members of the press and public won’t have to spend their limited time and resources to sue for the same information — information that belongs to the public.”
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