Yesterday the Munster Times reported:
HAMMOND | Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr.'s chief of staff Monday said The Times will have to wait three weeks to receive routine reports from the city's police department.In today's paper The Times reports:Chief of Staff Marty Wielgos cited no legal reason why the records would not be released in a timely manner or why release of information is not subject to Indiana's Open Records Law.
He said other media may be provided information in a timely manner and that Hammond residents can turn to such media for current information.
Wielgos said access to police information is being withheld because there is a strained relationship between the mayor's office and The Times.
He also said, "Some of those other entities -- based on their relationships with the Police Department -- will get their information one way. Others who don't have as good of a relationship with the Police Department may have to wait a little longer."
The Times has been denied access to daily Hammond crime reports since Dec. 21, when McDermott ordered all requests for information -- including police reports -- to receive approval from his office.
McDermott has declined to discuss the policy, and did so again Monday. His edict came shortly after the newspaper published a news story on his request for a pay increase. In an editorial, the newspaper opposed the pay increase, citing a tax crisis in Hammond.
INDIANAPOLIS | At least two legal experts in public records law on Tuesday said Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. has no authority to withhold routine police records from The Times for any longer than 24 hours.Posted by Marcia Oddi at December 29, 2004 10:26 AMSteve Key, counsel for the Hoosier State Press Association, said the public records law is extremely clear that information on police activity must be made available to all who request it. Key said no official has the discretion to decide who gets public information later than others, as McDermott has ordered for The Times.
"The mayor does not have the ability to withhold this information from anyone," Key said. "The law doesn't allow for information release to be based on relationships or on who the public officer likes or doesn't like."
Key said he's certain the state's public access counselor will rule against the mayor in an advisory opinion. If McDermott ignores that ruling, the only option is a lawsuit, he said. The real loss comes for the public, which is denied information needed for self-protection, he said. * * *
The issue now has received national attention through Editor & Publisher, a journal that covers the newspaper industry.
In August, The Times and seven other newspapers conducted a test of access to public information in all 92 Indiana counties. Newspaper employees presenting themselves as the public requested the same crime logs and incident reports that McDermott has restricted.
When the test found that county sheriff offices routinely broke open records law, the state's public access counselor said more legal training was necessary to help public officials and employees understand the law. Most officials relent when the counselor's office sends out an advisory opinion, she said at the time.