Bill Would Block Release of Some Newtown Records

May 22, 2013
Family members of victims would have discretion over release of some of the records.

A secretly drafted bill to block release of photos, tapes of 911 calls and death certificates related to the Dec. 14 Newtown elementary school massacre could be acted on in the General Assembly as early as Wednesday evening, officials said.

Family members of victims would have discretion over release of some of the records.

A draft of the bill was released Wednesday afternoon by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's office, which has been working behind the scenes in recent weeks on drafting the language with legislative leaders and the office of the state's top prosecutor, Chief State's Attorney Kevin Kane.

Word of the planned legislation was kept from the public until Tuesday, when The Courant obtained a copy of an email written by a Kane assistant that said Malloy's legal staff told him a draft of a "special act" would be quickly "forthcoming."

A Courant story about the secret plan to withhold information on the Newtown investigation has sparked intense interest and concern in Connecticut and nationwide -- based both on what the bill would do and the way it was put together outside the normal legislative process, without a public hearing.

According to the draft released by Malloy's office, the restrictions in the bill, as currently drafted, would apply only to records "compiled in connection with the school shooting that occurred on Dec. 14, 2012 at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown' -- where 20 first-graders and six women died, and two other women survived gunshot wounds.

Kane, the prosecutor, said he wanted at least some of the proposed limitations of release of records to apply to police investigations in general -- not just the Newtown case -- but his proposal isn't reflected in the draft.

"Our proposal was not limited," Kane said Wednesday.

The bill, which would take effect immediately upon passage, would:

-- Allow all government agencies to keep secret from the public any images including photographs, video tapes and digital recordings as well as audio recordings that depict the physical condition of any victim "without the written consent of the victim, or, if the victim is deceased, a member of the victim's immediate family."

-- Permit any public agency to remove the name of any minor witness of the school shooting -- younger than 18 -- from any records.

-- Prevent disclosure to the public any recordings of audio transmissions or recordings of any "call for emergency assistance, including but not limited to an emergency 9-1-1 call." Public agencies, however, would be allowed to sell transcriptions of such recordings to members of the public for 50 cents a page.

Also, no municipal official or employee would be required to make public the death certificate of anyone who died at the school, unless the request is made by a member of the victim's immediate family.

"Immediate family" is defined in the draft of the bill as "a spouse, adult child, parent, adult sibling or legal guardian." "Victim" means "any person who suffered a gunshot wound or any other physical injury arising from the discharge of a firearm on the grounds of Sandy Hook Elementary School" on Dec. 14, "but excluding the person who fired such firearm."

Malloy's communications director, Andrew Doba, had said Tuesday night that the governor's office had been working with legislators on the proposal from Kane's office.

"A lot of people, including our office, have heard the concerns expressed by the families of Newtown victims, and are exploring ways to respect the families' right to privacy while also respecting the public's right to information," gubernatorial chief of staff Mark Ojakian said in a statement released by Doba.

One of the lawmakers behind the legislation is Senate Minority Leader John McKinney, R-Fairfield, whose district includes Newtown. McKinney issued this statement Wednesday: "I represent the people of Newtown in the state Senate and that includes the parents and family members of those who were murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary School. No one has been a stronger advocate of Connecticut's Freedom of Information Act than I have, but on behalf of the Sandy Hook families, and because this was an unprecedented tragedy, I support a one-time exception, so that graphic evidence and the crime scene photographs of the murdered children and loved ones of my constituents are not exploited."

Courant reporters Christopher Keating and Dave Altimari contributed to this story.

Copyright 2013 - The Hartford Courant

McClatchy-Tribune News Service

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