David Cuillier Comments on Delayed Public Records Requests from Tennessee School Shooting

David Cuillier, director of the Brechner Freedom of Information (FOI) Project, is quoted in “Mayors, Teachers, Parent Push for Release of Information About Perry High School Shootings” published in the Des Moines Register on Sept. 6.

The article focuses on Perry school district staff, the city’s mayor and the mother of a student still recovering from gunshot wounds who are among those seeking the release of findings from an Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation report into the Jan. 4 shootings at Perry High School in Linden, Tennessee. The Dallas County Attorney claims the report is exempt from Iowa’s open-records law.

According to Cuillier, not releasing the report could erode people’s trust in law enforcement and the government. Releasing the report will also help with the healing process.

“If there are certain facts during the investigation, before a trial, that would compromise the investigation, then those specific facts maybe could be blacked out or redacted, but everything else should be released,” Cuillier said. “And we have enough problems in our society with people not trusting the government, and we know from research, one way of building trust in government is transparency, being open, accountable and honest. This doesn’t look like that.”

“Everybody should be up in arms,” Cuillier said. “Teachers, students, parents, taxpayers. This isn’t about the law enforcement versus the media. … This is about our government hiding important information that everybody wants to see. And these are important things, and not just for prurient reasons, not just to see gory details.”

“Information is cathartic. Understanding what happened, even if it’s unpleasant, even if it’s difficult to hear, that’s what’s important for people, humans, to get beyond tragedy to understanding,” he said. “… If this community is going to heal, they should have the information at hand to understand what happened, and what can they do in the future to be safer because ultimately, that’s what everybody wants.”

Posted: September 17, 2024
Category: Brechner Center, College News
Tagged as: Brechner Freedom of Information Project, David Cuillier, Public Records Requests