Nearly six years ago, a group of Bay Area journalists and privacy activists sued Oakland’s police department for its failure to respond to thousands of public records requests over many years.
To settle the case, OPD agreed to clear its massive backlog of public records requests and, going forward, to comply with the Public Records Act, the state law that guarantees transparency in government by requiring agencies to share documents, data, and other information upon request.
The settlement was supposed to guarantee that OPD would release routine records, like tow reports, as well as more sensitive materials, like investigations of police shootings and officer misconduct, much more quickly. The city also agreed to pay $127,500 in attorney’s fees and costs…