Council orders city attorney to investigate leak of unredacted Maverick report

Lawrence City Council on Feb. 4 voted to direct the city attorney to investigate how an unredacted copy of the Maverick Investigative Services report was released to the public during the ongoing review of two outside investigations into police department conduct.

The 6-1-1 roll call on the motion recorded yes votes from Councilors Reyes, Santiago, Luzon, Levy, Vice President Sebastian Infante and Councilor Rodriguez; Councilor LaPlante voted no; Councilor Del Rosario abstained; Councilor Mamos was noted absent. Council President called the motion carried after tallying the votes.

Why it matters: councilors said the leak exposed confidential personnel information and could chill future good-faith reporting to the state oversight agency. Councilors who supported the motion argued failing to investigate would send the wrong message about handling sensitive personnel records. Opponents said the council should focus on the substantive findings of the reports rather than procedural leaks.

City Attorney Timothy Hooton told the council his office has not been authorized to launch its own inquiry into the leak and that his office lacks independent authority to expend funds to hire an outside investigator without authorization. "I've not been authorized to do any investigation. I said it should be investigated. I don't have the power to engage in an investigation," Hooton said during the meeting.

Council debate focused on accountability and confidentiality. Councilor Sebastian Infante said failing to act would signal that "it is okay for the city to just be irresponsible with documents and names of personnel that we should be protecting." Councilor LaPlante opposed the motion, saying the council should prioritize reviewing the substance of the reports rather than adding another formal probe.

The motion directs the city attorney to determine how the unredacted report was released and report back to the council. The council also recorded earlier procedural actions tied to the agenda item: a motion to untable item 28-25 passed at the start of the session, and, at the end of the meeting, the council voted to withdraw item 28-25 from the agenda.

The vote and the motion do not itself impose discipline or change the content of either outside report; they create a directive for the city attorney to investigate the leak and provide findings to the council.

Votes at a glance: order city attorney to investigate leak — outcome: approved (yes: Reyes, Santiago, Luzon, Levy, Infante, Rodriguez; no: LaPlante; abstain: Del Rosario; absent: Mamos).

The council requested the city attorney report back with the results of the investigation; no timeline was specified during the meeting.