The ACLU of Florida said it will appeal a judge’s recent dismissal of a lawsuit filed by the group against the Sarasota Police Department. The ACLU believes Sarasota Police are improperly shrouding records about their cell phone tracking program.
The ACLU is currently seeking public records from local police departments across the country. The group wants to know how police are using controversial cell-phone tracking technology called “stingrays.” The devices mimic cell phone towers and can access location and identity information from any cell phone within its range.
So far, official with the ACLU have said the group has learned a lot. However, some departments have been able to keep those surveillance documents a secret.
Sarasota’s police department has been able to skirt Florida’s broad public records laws by claiming the files belong to a federal agency.
The ACLU of Florida filed a lawsuit in order gain access to those records, but a judge dismissed the legal challenge.
Michael Barfield is a plaintiff in that lawsuit. He said he’s appealing the judge’s decision because he said the judge improperly determined that the records belong to the U.S. Marshals Service.
“We have information that we believe if we had received an evidentiary hearing that would have persuaded the judge otherwise,” Barfield said. “We never got that hearing and that is one of the key issues we plan to raise on appeal.”
In a statement, Sarasota Police Chief Bernadaette DiPino said “although a Circuit Court Judge recently dismissed the lawsuit compelling us to release records we believe belong to a federal agency, the plaintiff has 30 days to appeal the judge's decision,” she said. “We have stated publicly that our agency disagrees with the lawsuit and will leave it to legal counsel to speak on the matter.”
