LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — The Arkansas Court of Appeals says a Fort Smith judge was correct when he denied awarding attorney’s fees to a lawyer who successfully sued the spokesman for the Arkansas State Police for patrol car dashcam videos.
The panel Wednesday also upheld a decision denying W. Whitfield Hyman’s request for internal-affairs records generated as state police investigated a trooper’s off-duty interaction with one of Hyman’s clients. Circuit Judge Stephen Tabor says that since the records weren’t used to suspend or terminate the trooper, they couldn’t be released under Arkansas’ Freedom of Information Act.
Hyman sought records from state police interactions with some of his clients. Tabor says the decision to withhold the videos was “substantially justified” because the spokesman followed department policy to not release records until cases are fully adjudicated.
