FOIA Friday: Prison complaints, UFO whistleblowers and deer killings

One of the less noticed features of the Virginia Way is the long-running tendency of the commonwealth’s leaders to conduct their decision-making behind closed doors. While the Virginia Freedom of Information Act presumes all government business is by default public and requires officials to justify why exceptions should be made, too many Virginia leaders in practice take the opposite stance, acting as if records are by default private and the public must prove they should be handled otherwise.

In this feature, we aim to highlight the frequency with which officials around Virginia are resisting public access to records on issues large and small — and note instances when the release of information under FOIA gave the public insight into how government bodies are operating. 

Prison officials hide complaints at facility where inmate died

The Virginia Department of Corrections is refusing to turn over 46 pages of documents detailing prisoner complaints at a Southwest Virginia facility where a recent death has drawn new attention to inmates’ living conditions.

According to the Associated Press, the agency cited a FOIA exemption covering “records of persons imprisoned in penal institutions” but refused to release the documents with the names of inmates and prison staffers redacted.

The Marion Correctional Treatment Center has been under scrutiny following the death last year of Charles Givens, a former inmate whose family has filed a lawsuit claiming he was tortured and beaten by guards before he died. The lawsuit includes other allegations about unusually cold temperatures at the facility. 

The AP had requested “two years’ worth of any inmate complaints related to topics such as uncomfortably cold temperatures at the prison, nonfunctioning or poorly functioning heating systems, and windows being left open during cold months.” 

An attorney for Givens’ family said prison officials are probably “ashamed” of what the withheld documents would reveal.

Virginia FOIA request reveals troubled past of UFO whistleblower

A retired Air Force intelligence officer who recently delivered sensational congressional testimony about the federal government’s purported knowledge of UFOs was previously committed to a mental health facility after asking his wife to kill him, according to Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office records The Intercept obtained through a FOIA request.

The documents show that authorities took star UFO witness Dave Grusch to a Northern Virginia emergency room after a 2018 incident in which his wife reported he was drunk and “suicidal.”

In a statement, Grusch said his “personal struggles” arose from post-traumatic stress disorder. He kept his security clearance after the incident.

Grusch’s allies suggested federal intelligence officials had leaked unflattering information about Grusch to undermine the credibility of his UFO claims.

Ken Klippenstein, the Intercept reporter who broke the story, has publicly pushed back against accusations he was improperly given access to documents that should be top secret.

“So highly classified they were sitting in a local virginia sheriff’s records office,” Klippenstein said in a post on X, the social media platform previously known as Twitter.

Augusta supervisor hands over his recordings of closed sessions

In the latest twist in what appears to be a growing FOIA battle in Augusta County, county Supervisor Scott Seaton agreed to turn over his recordings of the county board’s closed sessions to his fellow board members, according to the News Virginian.

After learning Seaton had recorded two years’ worth of closed-door meetings, the board voted to censure him and formally requested copies of the audio files.

At a meeting Wednesday night, Seaton pointedly noted that he had also given copies to the U.S. Department of Justice’s public integrity division.

At the same meeting, Seaton motioned to have the board start making its own recordings of closed meetings. He was the only supervisor to vote in favor of the idea.

Chris Graham, the editor of the Augusta Free Press, has revealed his paper has filed FOIA requests for Seaton’s recordings that could shed light on events leading up to the resignation of a former board member.

Chesapeake withholds records on officers firing weapons to euthanize deer

In response to a FOIA request filed last month seeking details on law enforcement officers’ firing of their weapons, the city of Chesapeake’s FOIA manager refused to release five documents and six videos.

The city official said the records can be withheld under exemptions for administrative investigations and personnel information, claims that appear to shield a broad swathe of routine police activity from public view. 

There were five weapon discharges in 2023 as of July 25, according to the city’s response, all of which involved the euthanization of wounded deer.

“Four were hit by a car and one injured jumping over a citizen’s fence,” Chesapeake FOIA manager Amanda Littlefield wrote in her response. “Three involved sworn officers and two Animal Control Officers.”

Letters show Norfolk backed phased casino approach before opposing it

In a letter sent March 1 to the team developing the planned casino in Norfolk, an official indicated the city was fine with the project being completed in two phases.

In a follow-up letter sent July 14, a different official indicated a phased approach was unacceptable.

The documents, which the Virginian-Pilot obtained through FOIA, appear to back up the casino development team’s assertion it’s gotten conflicting guidance from Norfolk, which changed city managers between the two letters.

Have you experienced local or state officials denying or delaying your FOIA request? Tell us about it: [email protected]