Ashley DeForrest requested any and all Eastern Berks Regional Police Department reports naming her husband and a minor. The Department denied the request as criminal-investigative. The requestor’s appeal letter stated that a detective had said the matter was closed, was not under investigation, and was civil rather than criminal. Appeals Officer Dennis J. Skayhan granted the appeal on June 12, 2023, holding that the Department did not meet its burden and that neither the request nor the denial letter showed the reports were investigative. Disclosure was ordered.
Key citations
65 P.S. §§ 67.101 et seq.; 65 P.S. § 67.708(b)(16) (criminal investigative records); 65 P.S. § 67.1303; Delaware County v. Schaefer, 45 A.3d 1149 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2012); Moore v. Office of Open Records, 992 A.2d 907 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2010)
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