The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office is facing another lawsuit accusing it of denying or not responding to open records requests.
The allegations come at a time when the county has been under scrutiny for destruction of records and allegedly stonewalling requests for public records. The sheriff’s office also has come under fire for a “catastrophic data loss” that caused thousands of sheriff’s office videos from dashboard cameras to disappear, something that potentially could jeopardize criminal and civil cases.
At least four lawsuits now have accused the sheriff’s office of not responding to open records requests. Two of the accusations are made in larger civil rights lawsuits and two more are lodged in their own open records suits.
In the latest suit, filed April 13, attorney Stephen Duggins alleges his client, Regina Holder, has not received a response to her open records request seeking disciplinary records and identities of deputies involved in a November 2019 incident during which she claims deputies pointed guns at her.
Holder and Duggins could not be reached for comment. The sheriff’s office disputes the alleged lack of response.