A Little Rock lawyer has filed an Arkansas Freedom of Information Act complaint against Hot Springs Police Chief David Flory, saying 911 recordings in the July 24 death of a judge's son in Hot Springs are public records and should be released.
Matthew Campbell, author of the Blue Hog Report blog, filed the document in Garland County Circuit Court on Wednesday afternoon after city officials denied his Freedom of Information Act request for any and all recordings of 911 calls made by Garland County Circuit Judge Wade Naramore on or about July 24.
On July 24, 1-year-old Thomas Naramore died in Hot Springs. A preliminary investigation showed that Thomas died as the result of "excessive heat" after being left unattended in a hot car for an unknown amount of time.
Officers arrived at Fairoaks Place and James Street in Hot Springs at 3:13 p.m. July 24, after Wade Naramore called 911, according to a Hot Springs Police Department report.
Campbell's complaint asks for a hearing and an order requiring Flory to produce the requested records.
Authorities have declined to release the 911 recordings, citing an open and ongoing investigation.
A Hot Springs police spokesman said Wednesday evening that all requests for comments were being referred to the city attorney's office. City Attorney Brian Albright said he would defer to special prosecutor Scott Ellington.
"I think under the circumstances, everything in my file is of an investigative nature," said Ellington, the prosecuting attorney appointed to the case.
In Campbell's Oct. 20 request sent to the Hot Springs Police Department through fax and email, he also asked for "all 911 calls made by anyone else on or about July 24 ... regarding Wade Naramore's son."
After receiving no reply by Oct. 21, Campbell forwarded his request via email to Flory.
Flory replied by email that day that he was "awaiting a ruling from the city attorney."
On Oct. 22, Albright replied via letter to Campbell, stating that "Ellington has indicated that the 911 call(s) in question are a part of an active, ongoing investigation."
"No charges have yet been filed and no arrest has been made," Albright wrote. "In deference to his investigation, I must assert an exemption to the disclosure requirement."
In a separate email, Albright told Campbell that "this was a tough one for me, and I expect that you will disagree with the decision. However, on balance, I do believe that it falls within the exemption under the current facts particular to this matter, at this time."
"If there is an arrest, or the case is closed, we may be looking at a different situation," Albright wrote.
In his complaint, Campbell contends that the recording of Naramore's 911 call is not a record that is investigative in nature, that it predates any police investigation and that there is "no genuine interest in ensuring secrecy."
"Because the law-enforcement exemption does not apply, defendant's failure to provide the requested recording is in violation of the" Freedom of Information Act, the complaint states.
The filing also states that Flory "has not indicated if there are calls that would be responsive to the second part of Campbell's request.
"The mere fact that [Flory], the city attorney, the city of Hot Springs or anyone else might not want to release the requested recordings does not allow them to misapply an [Arkansas Freedom of Information Act] exemption as a way to avoid releasing the recordings," the complaint says.
State Desk on 10/29/2015