SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Utah public records officials say Brigham Young University’s police department is not a public institution and its records do not have to be released under the state open records law.
The Salt Lake Tribune requested emails from BYU’s police department and departments in the Mormon church-owned school handling university honor code violations and Title IX sexual violence investigations.
The Salt Lake Tribune reports (https://bit.ly/29J8x6Y) it’s asking a judge to review the issue after Utah’s Records Committee said BYU police were not a “governmental entity.”
The records battle comes as Utah’s Department of Public Safety investigates whether BYU officers inappropriately shared sexual assault case information, leading to honor code investigations of students who reported being sexually assaulted.
BYU says it’s reviewing its practices. Spokeswoman Carri Jenkins says Utah law allows state-commissioned police to be employed by a private university.
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Information from: The Salt Lake Tribune, https://www.sltrib.com
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