Director denies dismissal, orders limited production in Broadbent v. Tooele City appeal

The director of the Department of Government Records denied Tooele City's motion to dismiss and granted petitioner Broadbent's appeal in part, ordering the city to produce specified audio and document pages with redactions while upholding other withholdings.

"As far as the reasonable search go goes, I find that the search as supplemented for this appeal and documented in the city's search summary, that's exhibit A, was reasonable as required under GRAMA, especially given the broad scope of the request and the lack of the specificity there," the director said during the hearing. He earlier rejected dismissal, saying the city had not shown material prejudice from the procedural irregularity that prompted debate over timeliness.

Petitioner Broadbent had argued the city produced responsive body‑camera recordings late and omitted underlying records — police report packets, CAD comments, radio logs, officer notes and routing metadata — for incidents on Feb. 19, Feb. 25, Feb. 26 and March 1. Broadbent asked for a supplemental, documented search and a record‑specific accounting. The city told the director it had located and supplemented missing body‑camera material but withheld two internal‑affairs reports and a declination memo as privileged or private; those materials were submitted for in‑camera review.

The director ordered the production of the audio labeled Exhibit C and pages 1–3 and 26–29 of Exhibit D with redactions to protect privacy and privileged material, and found the two internal‑affairs investigation records properly classified as private employment records under the cited statutory provision. He said he would issue a written decision within seven business days; parties retain the right to appeal to district court within 30 calendar days.

The ruling separates discussion and formal action: the denial of dismissal, the finding of search reasonableness, the limited production order, and the preservation of privileged redactions. The director emphasized that GRAMA is an access statute and not a vehicle to answer every factual question about an incident; he encouraged the petitioner to file narrowly tailored supplemental requests if she can point to identifiable responsive records not yet produced.

What happens next: the department will issue a written order within seven business days; the city must file a notice of compliance or an appeal within 30 calendar days.