Director denies Murray City police‑records appeal, cites juvenile‑record privacy

The Department of Government Records director denied reporter Courtney Tanner’s appeal seeking Murray City Police Department records about Javier Celis, concluding the juvenile‑victim privacy interest outweighed the public‑interest arguments presented.

Tanner told the director she sought the police report and related records to fact‑check widely circulated federal social‑media claims and said juvenile court records already released publicly (a case history summary and petition) supported a need for police records to provide fuller context. Tanner argued the perpetrator’s juvenile plea reduced his privacy protections and that a heavily redacted initial contact report could serve the public interest.

Murray City counsel argued the records involve alleged misconduct with minors and that privacy protections under Utah Code 63G‑2‑3022(d) and cited cases supported classifying the records private; counsel said redaction sufficient for public release would be impracticable because redacting the file would leave an unintelligible record and could risk identifying victims.

After reviewing records in camera the director found the materials properly classified as private and that the initial contact report could not be meaningfully redacted to both protect victims and serve Tanner’s fact‑checking purpose. The director denied the appeal and will issue a written decision within seven business days; parties may appeal to district court within 30 calendar days.

The director noted the unique structure of the police report in this case and emphasized the director’s duty to weigh victim privacy in juvenile matters.