Student files lawsuit against Elon University, N.C. Attorney General for withholding campus police records
An Elon senior filed suit against Elon University and N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper for withholding Campus Safety and Police records concerning the arrest of a student last year. Nick Ochsner, a reporter for Phoenix14 News, Elon's student television news program, filed the lawsuit April 13, 2011. "I filed the lawsuit because I believe that the documents I am seeking are public records," Ochsner said. Ochsner said he was trying to obtain an arrest narrative, a document that describes the events surrounding an arrest. "(Campus Safety and Police's) practices subvert state law and I believe that the state public records law intends for the information that I am seeking to be public," he said. This is not the first time records have been withheld, he said, and about half of the police departments across the state do not release the records. Dan Anderson, director of University Relations, released a statement concerning the pending litigation. It states: Elon University is surprised that this case moved to litigation despite the best efforts by the university and its attorneys over the past year to respond to this student's request for records concerning the arrest of another student.
