ST. LOUIS (AP) — A St. Louis activist is suing the city for records on police stops.
A MacArthur Justice Center lawyer filed the lawsuit Wednesday in hopes of getting a judge to force the police department to turn over the documents.
Activist Phillip Weeks wants to use the records to see whether certain officers have a history of pulling over black drivers at a disproportionately high rate.
The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department has argued it doesn’t have the data, which is stored by a St. Louis IT company. The company told Weeks it can’t release the information without permission from St. Louis police.
MacArthur lawyer Amy Breihan says the agency is trying to avoid public accountability by denying Weeks’ open-records request.
The city attorney did not immediately comment Thursday on the lawsuit.
