A three-judge appeals court panel last week ruled that disciplinary records for a former Milwaukee County sheriff’s deputy must be released, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.
“The denial of public access generally is contrary to the public interest, and only in an exceptional case may access be denied,” the court wrote in its decision. “This policy of disclosure is one of the strongest declarations of policy in the Wisconsin statutes.”
On Jan. 25, 2020, then-deputy Joel Streicher ran a red light while on duty, killing Caesar Stinson in the crash. The incident prompted interest from the media regarding Streicher’s past issues, and when sheriff’s officials decided to release two prior internal affairs reports, Streicher and his union sued to keep them secret.
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Stinson’s estate intervened in the case and later appealed a circuit court ruling that sided with Streicher on one of the reports.
The appeals court panel last week agreed with the estate’s public-interest claim and noted that sensitive information could be redacted from the reports, rather than withholding the files entirely.
