Lawmaker wants to exempt 'specific' 911 recordings from open records requests
First Amendment watchdogs say proposal is not necessary
- House Communications Office
- State Rep. Micah Gravley
A new bill proposed by state Rep. Micah Gravley, R-Douglasville, would restrict some 911 audio recordings currently allowed under the Georgia Open Records Act from being obtained.
Gravley told CL he wants to protect the privacy of specific types of victims - i.e. "a caller who has died during the call, a victim of rape, and/or a victim of aggravated battery." He doesn't think the proposal would reduce transparency as transcripts would still be made available.
"The family members of that victim obviously wouldn't want that out for public consumption," Gravley said. He added that bill went through several drafts to narrow the scope. It's not his intention to set a precedent that would allow further restrictions on open records requests, he said. The AJC's Jim Galloway says the piece of legislation is Gravley's first since arriving at the Gold Dome.
Hollie Manheimer, executive director for the the Georgia First Amendment Foundation, released a statement in opposition of the proposal.
"When someone is in distress and the government fails to respond, that's the most important time for records to be made public. The last thing we should be doing is letting government agencies conceal records like this. 911 recordings are a very powerful tool to assess the responsiveness of law enforcement agencies. The interests between privacy and public interests in the law already have been carefully balanced, and there is no need for further restrictions."
Co-sponsers for the bill include state Reps. Mike Jacobs, R-Brookhaven, Dustin Hightower, R-Carrollton, Sam Teasley, R-Marietta, Calvin Smyre, D-Columbus, and John Carson, R-Marietta.