OCEAN CITY, Md. — The Maryland Appellate Court ruled that law enforcement agencies must disclose the names of officers involved in use-of-force incidents, along with use-of-force reports and related administrative reviews, finding those records are not protected personnel files under Anton’s Law, the Washington Post reported.
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The ruling comes in a case brought by the Post against the Ocean City Police Department, originating with a 2021 public information request. After a series of use- of -force incidents involving TASERs, the Post requested investigation records to uncover the names of the officers involved.
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While the department released some information, they did not release the officers’ names and omitted some administrative review records explaining disciplinary action in the incidents, according to the Post.
The Post then sued the department, claiming the lack of disclosure violated Anton’s Law, state police transparency legislation passed that year. The department claimed that the documents in question were personnel files and were thus exempt from the law.
A circuit court sided with the Post in May 2024, granting most of its requests. The department appealed the decision.
The court ruled that under Anton’s Law, use-of-force reports and related administrative reviews are not protected personnel records and must generally be disclosed, including the names of involved officers, though agencies may still apply lawful redactions.
Judge Andrea M. Leahy’s opinion agreed with the lower court that giving police departments sole authority to withhold use-of-force reports in disclosures would “frustrate the purpose of Anton’s Law.”
The department has not yet stated whether it will appeal the decision to the state supreme court, the Post reported.
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