Director affirms Weber County’s decision to keep IA report private

Director Lonnie Pearson affirmed Weber County’s decision to classify an internal affairs investigation report as a private personnel record and denied petitioner Jose Gutierrez’s GRAMA appeal. Gutierrez sought process‑level documents and argued Weber County had not performed the individualized public‑interest balancing GRAMA requires.

Gutierrez described the personal consequences he attributed to the investigation and asked for non‑identifying process records, redactions, or a limited production. He said the county “treated record classification as automatically barring disclosure” and failed to document a public‑interest balancing analysis. “Transparency into process and not outcome serves the public interest here,” Gutierrez said.

Weber County attorney Laura Thomas said the IA report relates to personnel records that remain private when allegations are not sustained and pointed to state records‑committee decisions supporting nondisclosure in similar circumstances. Chief Deputy Colby Ryan described the IA review and disposition process.

After an in‑camera review of the investigation file, the director said releasing unsustained investigation records would risk reputational harm and a chilling effect on recruitment and retention, and found the petitioner had not shown the public interest favoring disclosure equaled or outweighed the privacy interest. The appeal was denied; the director will issue a written decision and parties retain appeal rights to district court.