By Bill O'Brien
bobrien@record-eagle.com
January 26, 2008 04:00 am TRAVERSE CITY -- A lawsuit alleges the Grand Traverse County Sheriff's Department violated public disclosure laws by delaying the release of information about a police shooting of a local man. Traverse City attorney Grant Parsons filed suit on Thursday on behalf of the family of Craig Carlson. A Grand Traverse sheriff's deputy shot Carlson to death in his Karlin home on Nov. 10, following an 11-hour standoff. The suit alleges the department violated the state's Freedom of Information Act by delaying the release of various documents that describe the incident. Sheriff's officials last week issued a 10-day extension to Parsons' FOIA request, and cited "unusual circumstances." But Parsons said the county failed to explain those circumstances, and he's concerned that authorities might add to or delete from the investigative record. "What the family does not want is to wait until the report and the raw evidence regarding this incident has all been sifted by the county's lawyers or insurance companies," Parsons said. "They say there's 'unusual circumstances' and I want to know, what are they?" Sheriff Scott Fewins said the 10-day extension is a routine measure, particularly in a case involving several police agencies and dozens of witness interviews. Fewins said he's "surprised" a lawsuit was filed before the county responded to the FOIA request. "It's kind of a comprehensive report; there's a lot of information there," Fewins said. "We're not going to try and take anything out of this report of substance ... we want to do it right, and we want to do it right the first time." Parsons' office submitted a FOIA request to Kalkaska County Prosecutor Brian Donnelly on Jan. 15 and sought documents and evidence associated with the standoff and shooting. Donnelly served as a special prosecutor and was assigned to review a state police probe of the shooting and determine whether Carlson's death was justified or should result in criminal charges. Donnelly eventually cleared Grand Traverse County deputy Charles Jetter of any wrongdoing when he shot and killed Carlson. Donnelly said Carlson was armed and presented a threat to the 50 to 60 police officers at the scene. On Jan. 16, Donnelly informed Parsons' office that he "divested himself of all materials he used to formulate his ... report" and had returned those documents to the Grand Traverse Sheriff's Department. The same day, Parsons filed a FOIA request with Fewins' office for "all records relevant to the Carlson incident," according to the lawsuit. On Jan. 17, Undersheriff Nathan Alger issued a FOIA response letter to Parsons that stated the department would take an additional 10 business days to respond to the request. Alger's response also said the county would not provide reports of the incident compiled by the state police, and that those requests would need to be filed with the state. Fewins, however, on Thursday said authorities are still deciding whether the county will go ahead and release documents originated by the state police. The lawsuit argues that evidence-gathering is completed and there is no ongoing investigation; also, it contends that Donnelly's report has been made public and was widely disseminated among local media. "It is really sad the family has to file suit to get information that Mr. Donnelly said was public," Parsons said.
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