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Racial Slur Sparks Court Fight Over Police Personnel Records

delaware.state.courts.gov

WASHINGTON (AP) - Maryland's highest court has agreed to hear a case involving the state's public records law and whether it requires Maryland State Police to turn over records involving a trooper who used a racial slur.

The court said Wednesday it would take the case of Teleta Dashiell, who filed a complaint after a Maryland State Police trooper accidentally left her a telephone message containing a racial slur. After she complained, Dashiell was told in a letter that that "appropriate disciplinary action" had been taken and was documented in the trooper's personnel file. But when Dashiell filed a Maryland Public Information Act request to learn more, the agency told her no records could be released.

The Court of Appeals, Maryland's highest court, will likely hear arguments in May.

Don Rush is the News Director and Senior Producer of News and Public Affairs at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.