TV station claims police violated open records law

MARSHALL, Mo. -- A Kansas City television station has sued the Sweet Springs Police Department, claiming it violated the state's open records law by withholding part of a report concerning a judge's involvement in a traffic accident.

In the suit, the Meredith Corporation, the parent company of CBS affiliate KCTV, said police released only four pages of a six-page report on an incident last month in which a driver left the scene of an accident. The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in Saline County.

The partial report released by Sweet Springs police says Dennis A. Rolf, the presiding judge of the 15th Judicial Circuit, left the scene of the March 1 accident, and his vehicle was damaged. The circuit covers Saline County and Lafayette County, where Sweet Springs is located.

If the entire six-page report is an incident report, the Meredith Corporation claims it should be open under the state's Sunshine Law.

If the additional two pages are part of an accident report -- which are open to all interested parties -- the company claims the report should be opened because the news media are legally recognized as interested parties.

Jay Barton, city attorney for Sweet Springs and assistant county prosecutor, claims the missing pages are an investigative report, which may remain closed under the Sunshine Law until the investigation becomes inactive.