Only Personnel Records Used to Evaluate Police Officer’s Performance Protected from Disclosure​

In a full-fledged opinion by Justice Peters, the Third Department determined that the records of a hit-and-run accident involving a state trooper, sought in a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request made by a newspaper journalist, may be protected by the Civil Rights Law 50-a if they are personnel records used to evaluate performance toward continued employment, even after employment has been terminated.  In this particular case, however, the Third Department ruled that the respondent (police department) failed to demonstrate that the records sought fell squarely within the Civil Rights Law exception and the motion to dismiss should not have been granted.

Respondent’s motion to dismiss must nevertheless be denied because, at this juncture, it has failed to demonstrate that the requested records “fall[] squarely within the exemption”….   Here, petitioners’ FOIL request sought all “records, in any form” that “relate[d] to” the off-duty incident involving Beardsley. In reply, respondent withheld all of the requested records on the basis of a blanket invocation of Civil Rights Law § 50-a, without describing any of the documents withheld or offering a specific basis for the claimed exemption … .  In the Matter of Hearst Corporation… v New York State Police, 515693, 3rd Dept, 5-30-13