After the CEO of Star News Media, Inc., the owner and operator of The Tennessee Star, submitted a public records request to the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) on Thursday asking that Covenant School mass killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale’s toxicology report be made public, The Star learned Friday that that request has been denied.
On Metro Nashville Police letterhead, the multi-part form asserts that the law prohibits the release of the materials. “Open Case,” the form reads, followed by, “Rule 16 of the Tennessee Rules of Criminal Procedure and Tennessean v. Metro Gov’t of Nashville, 485 S.W. 3d 857 (Tenn. 2016).”
MNPD’s denial of the toxicology and autopsy reports on Friday stands in sharp contrast with Gov. Bill Lee’s promise late Thursday night that documents will be released “very soon.” The denial also raises questions about whether MNPD is seeking to conceal information about what medications the killer, Audrey Elizabeth Hale, may have been taking.
“We believe the Metro Nashville Police Department’s denial of our public records request for the toxicology and autopsy reports of Covenant killer Audrey Hale is based on an incorrect reading of Rule 16 of Tennessee Civil Procedures, Tennessee statutes, and Tennessee court precedent,” said Michael Patrick Leahy upon the denial of the latter request. “We intend to vigorously challenge this unjustified public records request denial in the appropriate legal venue, and we look forward to establishing the precedent that under Tennessee law, the release of toxicology and autopsy reports of mass murderers is in the public interest.”
Leahy filed an open records request Thursday to obtain Hale’s toxicology report on the day of the mass shooting, during which Hale died by gunfire at the hands of police.
Deborah Fisher, the executive director of Tennessee Coalition for Open Government (TCOG) told The Star Thursday that MNPD is potentially misusing Rule 16, which bars police from commenting on ongoing criminal investigations, to delay the release of the manifesto.
“Essentially, my understanding is that when the investigation is over is when you decide you’re not charging anybody,” she said.
“As far as I know, there is nothing that would lead you to believe that they’re looking at another suspect, or looking at another crime.”
She noted that it is her understanding that Rule 16 does not apply to either a toxicology report or an autopsy report.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter.
Photo “Audrey Hale” by Audrey Hale. Background Photo “The Covenant School” by The Covenant School.
Is there an appeal mechanism to force them to release the info?