File cabinets. (Getty)
One of the less noticed features of the Virginia Way is the long-running tendency of the commonwealth’s leaders to conduct their decision-making behind closed doors. While the Virginia Freedom of Information Act presumes all government business is by default public and requires officials to justify why exceptions should be made, too many Virginia leaders in practice take the opposite stance, acting as if records are by default private and the public must prove they should be handled otherwise.
In this feature, we aim to highlight the frequency with which officials around Virginia are resisting public access to records on issues large and small — and note instances when the release of information under FOIA gave the public insight into how government bodies are operating.
Chesterfield County police dispatch relayed break-in attempt before fatal shooting.
Federal Court records obtained by WTVR revealed information dispatchers gave Chesterfield police officers before they fatally shot on July 8, 2023.
According to the news station, police responded after a resident on Wycliff Court reported Byers breaking through a window to enter a home where he told the resident he thought he was at his family’s house and asked for water. Another resident reported Byers tried to enter his home and appeared to be “messed up”
The dispatcher relayed the breaking and entering attempt through the window to the officers. The officer, who fatally shot Byers as he was walking away from them with a hatchet in his hand, had asked about any crimes committed so far and if he made entry into anything.
“Looks like he vandalized one residence. Other than that, I’m not seeing anything,” the dispatcher responded.
Byers’ family is suing Chesterfield County over the death, arguing the crimes committed by him didn’t warrant the use of deadly force.
County attorneys are seeking a dismissal, saying Byers had “squared up” with the officer and the reported crimes would lead a reasonable responding officer to believe a “potentially dangerous crime” was in the process.
The attorney for Byers’ family contended the officer was only aware of a misdemeanor, and that Byers never made a threatening motion with the hatchet toward the officers.
A judge is considering whether the case has merit to continue. The Byers family is also suing HCA’s Chippenham Hospital and the city of Richmond for jointly and improperly removing Byers from a mental health facility, despite a court order directing him to be there.
Richmond finance department doesn’t tell business owners about money they’re owed
As part of continuing coverage of several issues with the city of Richmond, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported the finance department wasn’t notifying business owners that had overpaid on their tax bills.
Asia Spratley, a former program and operations manager in the finance department, told an employee in an August 2022 email, “please do not include credit balanced,” when the employee asked how to determine the number of taxpayer accounts no longer had a balance due, according to the email obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.
As part of his report, journalist Samuel Parker detailed how Jason Roop, who owns the public and relations marketing firm Springstory, and Jeff Marks, who ran Promotional Considerations, received notices of unpaid taxes and the city’s intent to sue, respectively. It took a visit to city hall for Roop and Marks to learn of their accidental overpayments, and credits owed to them.
Spratley told the RTD credit balances were omitted from reports because they were intended to determine who had outstanding balances. Overpayments were the responsibility of the “revenue side” of the department, added Spratley, who resigned in August after a dispute with management.
Margaret Ekam, a city spokeswoman, said Spratley’s instructions followed the “normal process” to write payment letters. Ekam also said most tax compliance and audit employees are no longer working with the finance department, which is “streamlining several processes.”
The city council passed an ordinance in March requiring notification of credits to taxpayers, but those records aren’t tracked, Ekam said. An inspector general said a city attorney told him to end an investigation into the finance department’s handling of tax overpayments because it was outside of his responsibilities. Ekam denied that, saying an investigation had cleared the city of wrongdoing, but didn’t state what agency carried out the investigation.
Fairfax County teacher sues for lack of records
A Fairfax County school teacher and former state Senate candidate filed a lawsuit against the district employing her alleging a failure to hand over all of the documents she requested through a Freedom of Information Act.
Julie Perry, who teaches history at Centreville High School, filed the records request after she thought her job was under attack following a post on X involving alleged transgender autistic kids, the Daily Signal reported.
In May, Perry posted about a trend she saw in her classrooms of autistic kids identifying as transgender, adding, “The far-left uses the literal mentality of children with Autism to abuse them in this manner.
“This is why children with Autism need greater protection.”
After seeing the post, Vanessa Hall, co-director of Fairfax County’s LGBT Pride club, sent an email to the high school principal voicing concern over the post, according to records received through a request from a Daily Wire reporter.
“However, these tweets below show that she is using students for her political gain,” Hall said in her complaint, adding she’s refrained from reporting Perry’s other “homophobic, transphobic and deeply hurtful” posts.
“She has crossed a serious ethical line if she is willing to release personal information about her students to the public on social media in direct violation of school policy and parental rights,” Hall said.
Then, Perry received a memo telling her that her posts, “should not impair your capacity” to be respectful of students and parents and the ability to do her job.
“Any action that brings the school system into disrepute may be just cause for dismissal.”
Perry filed a FOIA request on May 29 for emails from Assistant Principal Penny Gros, who received a complaint about Perry and would seek guidance on how to handle it before the memo went out, mentioning her name.
Gros received the complaint, the Daily Signal reported, from the principal at Perry’s high school initially who received it from a donor to the campaign of then school board member and now Sen. Stella Pekarsky, the Democrat who beat Perry to represent Fairfax County.
Perry only received one document in response to her FOIA, despite the Daily Wire receiving 14 documents for a similar request.
Have you experienced local or state officials denying or delaying your FOIA request? Tell us about it: info@virginiamercury.com
GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX