Access to Court Documents in United Public Service Employees Cops Local 62 v. Town of Hamden and the Hamden Police Commission

In a victory for government transparency, a New Haven Superior Court judge sided with the ACLU of Connecticut in our argument for the court to unseal the transcript of Hamden police employee Devin Eaton’s internal affairs interview about the night he shot someone.

In a victory for government transparency, a New Haven Superior Court judge sided with the ACLU of Connecticut on March 10, 2020 in our argument for the court to unseal the transcript of Hamden police employee Devin Eaton’s internal affairs interview about the night he shot Stephanie Washington and shot at Paul Witherspoon. ACLU of Connecticut legal director Dan Barrett argued in New Haven Superior Court for the public’s right to see the transcript of Hamden police employee Devin Eaton’s interview with his employers about the night he shot Stephanie Washington and shot at Paul Witherspoon.

The court had previously sealed the transcript of Eaton’s interview. The ACLU of Connecticut took legal action and argued in court for the public’s right to access it. On March 10, 2020, the court ruled that the transcript must be unsealed. The Hamden police union has 10 days from March 10 to decide whether to appeal the ruling. If they do not appeal, the earliest the ACLU of Connecticut could receive a copy of the transcript would be March 22. When and if the ACLU of Connecticut obtains that copy, we will immediately make it public on our website.

The government shouldn’t keep documents about police behavior secret. The public has a right to know what Eaton said about that night, when he was working as a Hamden police employee.