For the second time, a proposal to make more police records secret under Connecticut's public records law fell short in the legislature.
A bill aimed at strengthening police accountability contained a provision that alarmed some government transparency advocates because it would have prevented public disclosure of any complaint filed against a police or correction officer until it is fully investigated.
The bill passed unanimously in the Senate, but failed to advance in the House before the end of the legislative session last week.
It was among a handful of proposals to curb public access to government records that surfaced this year, but didn’t gain traction as lawmakers scrambled to pass a two-year budget and finish other business before a June 4 deadline.
The police accountability bill was crafted in the wake of a false traffic stop data probe of the Connecticut State Police. It makes intentionally entering false information into a law enforcement record a felony.
An audit by the Connecticut Racial Profiling Project raised concern about false or inaccurate racial profiling information provided by 130 current and former state troopers and constables.
An independent investigation later found the majority of the troopers are unlikely to have engaged in intentional misconduct, concluding that most of the inaccurate information was due to mistakes and technical errors.
However, the report also critiqued state police, finding the agency failed to respond effectively when it first learned in 2018 of a handful of troopers who intentionally falsified traffic stop data, or to investigate broader problems in its system.
As a result, Gov. Ned Lamont and Democratic lawmakers pushed in 2024 to strengthen data reporting requirements for law enforcement. House Republicans amended their proposed bill to additionally create a new exemption to the Connecticut Freedom of Information Act. It would have barred the release of any formal complaint against a police or correction officer until it is “investigated and adjudicated by the proper legal authority.”
Representatives of the ACLU of Connecticut, the state Freedom of Information Commission and the CT Council on Freedom of Information opposed creating the new FOIA exemption, arguing it would have allowed agencies to indefinitely withhold records of misconduct.
However, the measure gained support from the Judiciary Committee, and from AFSCME Council 4, which represents corrections employees and most municipal police officers in Connecticut.
Brian Anderson, legislative and political associate director for the union, said in May the state has a strong system for investigating misconduct allegations.
"We have layer upon layer of examination of police officers to make sure they're doing their job properly," Anderson said.
