NEW CUMBERLAND — A freelancing legal reporter and researcher is suing the Hancock County Sheriff's Office for failing to relinquish information requested by a Freedom of Information Act request.
Jay Lawrence Smith filed the lawsuit against Sheriff Ralph A. Fletcher, the sheriff's office, The Hancock County Commission and Commission President Jeff D. Davis in Hancock Circuit Court.
Smith, a Hurricane resident, sent a FOIA request with the defendants on Jan. 24, 2017, after finding out about a lawsuit filed in 2008 in federal court involving the sheriff's office.
Smith was seeking a release of claims signed by the parties; the payout made by the department either through its general revenue fund or a third party; the deductible paid to the department's insurance carrier and name of the carrier; and the legal fees and expenses incurred by the lawyers representing the department and related to the defendants.
The case involved Charles M. Penson, who claimed the sheriff's office violated his civil rights when he was shot in the back by deputies of the Hancock County Sheriff's Office's Special Response Team and rendered a quadriplegic.
Smith claims media outlets did not cover the settlement in 2011 and the only news of the settlement came as a press release from the law firm that represented Penson.
On Jan. 5, 2017, Smith received a phone call from the sheriff's office and Chief Deputy Arthur Watson informed Smith that the request was forwarded to the county administrator, Bib Vidas since the sheriff's office was not in possession of the documents he requested.
Five days later, Vidas responded to Smith's FOIA request stating that all employees that were involved in the action Smith was inquiring about either retired or lost election bids and no files existed for the information requested, according to the suit.
Smith claims Vidas said the county's insurance carrier, Travelers, was able to provide a loss report on the payout made to settle the action
Smith later amended his FOIA request to include the four officers involved, asking for their salaries and employment and disciplinary histories, according to the suit.
Smith claims the defendants failed to provide legitimate reasons for the requests for information. He claims they deliberately and intentionally withheld certain documents from public disclosure.
Smith is seeking the documents requested as well as costs and fees incurred in the action. He is representing himself.
The case is assigned to Circuit Judge David Sims.
Hancock Circuit Court case number: 18-C-95
