February 2, 2022
PRESS RELEASE: New federal lawsuit claims D.C. Police Department has Freedom of Information “Watchlist” Made Up of Government Critics
Tonight, Amy Phillips, a criminal-defense attorney and advocate for police accountability and transparency, filed a lawsuit in federal court against the District of Columbia alleging that the Metropolitan Police Department maintains a watchlist of advocates and reporters whose requests for public information are delayed or denied because they may be critical of the government. MPD’s watchlist, Phillips alleges, is a flagrant violation of the First Amendment.
The suit alleges, based on the reports of a high-ranking whistleblower from within MPD, that the department has improperly delayed or denied requests from reporters for WUSA-9 and FOX-5, from ANC Commissioners critical of the police, from the ACLU, and from other nonprofit organizations, on at least 20 occasions over two years. Phillips alleges that she is on the watchlist because she requested information regarding police misconduct and because she herself is a vocal critic of MPD.
“The District is attempting to silence speech criticizing the police,” said Charlie Gerstein, of Gerstein Harrow LLP, a D.C. law firm specializing in the First Amendment rights of defense advocates. “And that is part of a disturbing national trend: governments trying to silence advocates who want to change the criminal legal system.”
“We should be able to monitor what our police officers do, and especially how MPD responds when officers hurt people or violate their rights,” said Amy Phillips, plaintiff in the case. “Even though MPD publicizes cases against legally innocent civilians, it hides its own findings that officers are guilty of official misconduct.”
The watchlist policy, according to the whistleblower described in the lawsuit, arose because former Chief of Police Peter Newsham wanted to avoid being “blindsided” by criticism in the press and wanted to protect the department from embarrassment in public. Newsham, the suit alleges, was personally involved in deciding to withhold potentially damaging information from the public. The suit alleges that current Chief of Police Robert Contee has continued the practice of discriminating against members of the public based on their protected speech.
The District is required to respond to the lawsuit in 21 days, after which a judge will likely rule on preliminary legal issues after the parties submit further papers.
For more on Gerstein Harrow’s civil rights practice, see here.
Case documents