Trial lawyers Joey McCutchen and Stephen Napurano, representing Conway resident Jimmie Cavin, filed a lawsuit today in Pulaski County Circuit Court against the Arkansas State Police (ASP) for numerous violations of the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
The lawsuit centers around the investigation of the shooting involving the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Little Rock Police Department (LRPD), which resulted in the death of Bryan Malinowski. Please see attached complaint.
Jimmie Cavin filed a FOIA request seeking the complete investigation file related to Malinowski's death. The Arkansas State Police provided several files including audio recordings of the investigative interviews of the ATF and Little Rock Police Department officers involved in the raid.
However, video recordings of the interviews were not provided. An independent analysis revealed that the video data had been removed from the media files that were provided to Mr. Cavin.
Mr. Cavin followed up with a subsequent FOIA request to ASP seeking details about the recording devices used to record the interviews, including the make, model, and identification numbers. ASP failed to provide that information to Mr. Cavin.
Additionally, the ATF Operational Plan for the raid of Malinowski’s home, which details the procedures and logistics of the raid, was not included in the materials provided by ASP. The Operational Plan was later obtained by Mr. Cavin from a separate FOIA Request submitted to the Pulaski County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. This raises concerns about why this important document was withheld despite ASP’s possession of it.
McCutchen said, “The Arkansas State Police holds itself out to be the premiere law enforcement agency of the state and has a core value of trust— to hold themselves to a higher standard of accountability. Arkansans should be able to trust the ASP to be transparent. If we can’t trust the ASP to provide all of our records when requested, who can we trust?”
McCutchen added, “This is one reason we need to strengthen, not weaken, our Arkansas Freedom of Information Act.”