FOIA Friday: Botched response to gunshot victim, NAACP threatens suit over DEI

One of the less noticed features of the Virginia Way is the long-running tendency of the commonwealth’s leaders to conduct their decision-making behind closed doors. While the Virginia Freedom of Information Act presumes all government business is by default public and requires officials to justify why exceptions should be made, too many Virginia leaders in practice take the opposite stance, acting as if records are by default private and the public must prove they should be handled otherwise.

In this feature, we aim to highlight the frequency with which officials around Virginia are resisting public access to records on issues large and small — and note instances when the release of information under FOIA gave the public insight into how government bodies are operating. 

Newport News officials refuse FOIA requests on lack of medical aid for gunshot victim

After the Hampton Roads-area TV station WAVY received an anonymous tip about Newport News firefighters allegedly letting a gunshot victim die instead of providing medical aid or rushing him to a hospital, the station filed FOIA requests trying to track down what had happened.

City officials initially estimated the records would cost more than $420, according to WAVY, and then said they were withholding 188 pages of records under FOIA exemptions dealing with personnel matters and attorney-client privilege.

In an interview with WAVY, police and fire officials said first responders had mistakenly declared the man dead while he was still alive, but denied the lack of information released about the incident was an attempt to cover it up. 

Authorities also said they couldn’t go into detail about what happened because it might jeopardize the criminal case against the suspected shooter.

Grand jury raises questions about missing files after Richneck Elementary shooting

A grand jury report released this week revealed new details about how Newport News Public Schools officials handled one of its teachers being shot in a classroom by a 6-year-old student.

The report, published in full by the New York Times, says disciplinary records pointing to a history of threatening behavior by the boy had gone missing from the school when law enforcement tried to obtain them for an investigation. A prior incident in which the boy choked another teacher, the report says, was only confirmed because that teacher kept a copy of the incident paperwork as part of her own files.

The grand jury suggested further investigation into a high-level school administrator’s “suspicious lack of memory” about how and why one of the files came to be in her possession.

 <infobox>The Mercury’s efforts to track FOIA and other transparency cases in Virginia are indebted to the work of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government, a nonprofit alliance dedicated to expanding access to government records, meetings and other state and local proceedings.</endbox>

Virginia NAACP says it’s suing Youngkin over DEI records

The Virginia NAACP has told Gov. Glenn Youngkin it’s planning to sue to try to gain access to records showing how his administration is handling diversity, equity and inclusion issues.

According to NAACP documents, the group was seeking an expansive trove of records shedding light on how Youngkin has affected the mission of Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion that Democratic lawmakers established as a cabinet position in 2020. Youngkin subsequently renamed it the Office of Diversity, Opportunity and Inclusion.

The NAACP asked for all records concerning the “creation” of the office, the “goals and objectives” of the office, the “responsibilities” of the office and a variety of other documents that might detail how the office operates. The request also asked for “all communications” between the DEI office and the governor’s office, General Assembly members and state government officials.

The civil rights organization said the Youngkin administration called its request overbroad and not specific enough for a response. According to an email from Youngkin’s FOIA officer that the NAACP published, the administration asked the group to provide specific “search terms” to narrow down the request. 

Youngkin signs bill closing police decertification proceedings

Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed legislation closing public access to decertification proceedings for law enforcement officers accused of misconduct, according to the Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism at WHRO and the Invisible Institute.

The bill’s supporters hope a less-public setting will encourage law enforcement agencies to make better use of the process and clean up their ranks. Transparency advocates, however, said the change could give regular Virginians less insight into how perceived abuses by law enforcement are dealt with.

Have you experienced local or state officials denying or delaying your FOIA request? Tell us about it: [email protected]