A victory for the public

After a legal challenge by attorneys representing the Deseret News and other Salt Lake media, a 3rd District judge ordered the Utah Department of Public Safety to release the police report and dashboard camera video of the arrest of former Utah Senate Majority Sheldon Killpack on suspicion of drunken driving in Millcreek on Jan. 15.

State officials had contended the release of the video could impact Killpack's right to a fair trial. He is charged with DUI, a class B misdemeanor; and failure to signal, a class C misdemeanor. His driver's license was suspended until August 2011 following a driver license division hearing in February. City prosecutors say Killpack had a blood-alcohol level of 0.11 at the time. The legal limit for impairment is 0.08. Killpack resigned from the Utah Legislature shortly after his arrest.

Judge Denise Lindberg's ruling to release the records surrounding this arrest was significant on many levels. It will help to ensure in the future that it will be easier to obtain dashboard camera video and initial reports from law enforcement agencies. It eliminates any question as to whether these records are considered public under the state Government Records Access and Management Act.

Earlier this year, the State Records Committee ruled that the records should be released to the news media but the Department of Public Safety chose to appeal that decision, saying it needed to preserve Killpack's right to a fair trial. As the months dragged on, the agency's reluctance to release the records also began to stir speculation about arrest itself. Such records normally are released with little debate.

Interestingly, Killpack's defense attorney, Ed Brass, has argued that the Utah Highway Patrol made an illegal traffic stop. In May, he filed motions in Salt Lake County Justice Court, contending the dashboard camera video does not support the erratic driving pattern described in the trooper's written report.

While a defense attorney's use of the video is different than that of the news media, the video is an important record of Killpack's conduct and it shows how the UHP trooper handled the arrest. The public's interests, and arguably, those of Killpack and the UHP trooper, are best protected when government records are transparent and open.