Director denies request for Murray police records, citing minors' privacy

The Department of Government Records denied Courtney Tanner's appeal seeking Murray City police records related to an incident involving Javier Celis from March 2014, finding the records were properly classified as private to protect minors.

Tanner, who said she had obtained juvenile court case history summaries and that a widely circulated social media post claimed misconduct, argued the public interest in correcting widely shared claims outweighed privacy concerns and requested at least an initial contact report with targeted redactions to allow fact‑checking.

Murray City counsel Mr. Brown said the records concern alleged misconduct involving minors and that the city has a duty to protect victim privacy. "We're talking about some pretty significant and pretty intimate allegations and statements made by and about minors," Brown told the director, arguing redaction would be extensive and could still risk identifying victims.

The director reviewed the records in camera and found they were properly classified as private under Utah Code 63G-2-3022(d). The director concluded redaction could not be performed in a way that both protected the victims and produced an intelligible record that would meet the petitioner's fact‑checking needs, and denied the appeal. A written decision will follow within seven business days.