SUPREME COURT RULES STATE POLICE CANNOT KEEP INTERNAL INVESTIGATION OUTCOMES SECRET - Lower Court Will Review Information To Be Released

(11/28/2013)
Court says all State Police internal investigation info cannot be secret

Gazette first sued State Police for internal records in 2010

By Travis Crum
Charleston Gazette

CHARLESTON - West Virginia State Police cannot keep all information about their completed internal investigations a secret, the state Supreme Court ruled Tuesday, and ordered a Kanawha County circuit judge to determine what secret police documents should be opened.

In 2010, the Charleston Gazette sued the State Police after requests for information about officer misconduct from the State Police and the state Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety were repeatedly denied. State Police had sought to keep hidden information from its Professional Standards section, which handles internal investigations.

In May 2012, Kanawha Circuit Judge Jennifer Bailey sided with the State Police in keeping that information hidden. The Gazette appealed Bailey's order to the state Supreme Court, which heard arguments in October. State Supreme Court justices unanimously returned Bailey's order on Tuesday ...

Read the rest of the story Court says all State Police internal investigation info cannot be secret by Travis Crum for The Charleston Gazette