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Council affirms redactions in FOIA appeal involving police records, citing victim-privacy exceptions
Summary
The council voted to affirm partial denials and redactions in two FOIA requests filed by Karen Hamama, with a council motion citing FOIA exceptions and the Michigan Crime Victims Rights Act and Child Protection Law as the legal basis for redacting sensitive medical and abuse-related information.
The Farmington Hills City Council voted to uphold the city's redactions in two FOIA requests filed by Karen Hamama, sustaining the FOIA coordinator's partial denials and directing the city clerk to issue formal written notice to the requester.
In making the motion, a council member said the redactions were legally permissible and cited specific FOIA provisions and statutes: "the redactions applied by the police department are legally permissible under FOIA subsections 13 1 a, 13 1 b 3, and 13 1 b because the redacted information includes highly sensitive medical information, specific abuse allegations, and the identities of accused parties." The motion also referenced compliance with the Michigan Crime Victims Rights Act and Michigan Child Protection Law as grounds for the redactions.
The appellant, Karen Hamama, was not present to argue the appeal in person. After brief discussion, the motion to affirm the partial denial carried on a regular vote. The city attorney said the materials provided to the council included the original FOIA requests, the records disclosed with redactions, and legal citations supporting those redactions.
What this means: The council's action upholds the city's use of statutory exemptions to protect private and sensitive information in police records; any further challenge to the redactions would proceed through the remedies available under Michigan FOIA.
