Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Crash Report topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
BPAC seeks police crash-report access after fatal cyclist collision
Summary
Members asked staff and the Public Safety Advisory Committee liaison to request the completed police investigation into the recent fatality of cyclist Stephen Ballinger so the committee can learn details and better recommend safety improvements.
Committee members on July 10 pressed for access to the police report on the recent fatal cyclist collision that killed Stephen Ballinger, arguing that crash details are necessary to shape safety recommendations.
Bike Santa Fe and committee members referenced Ballinger’s death during public-safety updates and urged the committee’s Public Safety Advisory Committee liaison, Member Steve Pilcher, to request the police investigation file. Pilcher said he would inquire at the Public Safety Advisory Committee meeting the following week. “I’m wondering if, you, Steve, as the liaison can request information from the police department on crashes … I think it would be within the interest of this committee to know the details of what happened,” Member Schiff Miller said.
Staff said crash reports are public records once investigations are complete but may require an Inspection of Public Records Act (IPRA) request if the investigation remains open. “We probably would have to do an IPRA request, but, it would only be accommodated once the investigation is complete,” staff said. Committee members asked Pilcher to request the status of the investigation and to pursue the report so BPAC can use factual crash details in future recommendations.
No formal committee directive was recorded beyond the plan for Pilcher to ask about the report status at the next Public Safety Advisory Committee meeting and for staff to advise on IPRA procedures if necessary.
