ACLU Sues Pawtucket Police Again for Shielding Records of Police Misconduct
For the second time in a year, the ACLU of RI is suing the Pawtucket Police Department for violating their obligations under the state’s Access to Public Records Act (APRA). Doubling down on their efforts to infringe upon the public’s right to know, the Department has again denied an APRA request for copies of final reports of investigations of alleged police misconduct generated by its Internal Affairs Division (IAD). The denial comes despite a pending ACLU lawsuit against the Department on virtually identical grounds and despite past RI Supreme Court rulings supporting the public’s access to these types of records.