FOIA lawsuit seeks Duggar 911 call info from Tontitown

FAYETTEVILLE -- A lawsuit has been filed against the Tontitown Police Department seeking records related to a 911 call made May 27 from the Jim Bob Duggar home.

The lawsuit is an appeal of the Tontitown Police Department's refusal to provide the records requested. The suit was filed in Washington County Circuit Court on behalf of Victra Fewell by Abtin Mehdizadegan and Cynthia Kolb, two lawyers from Little Rock.

The lawsuit contends Tontitown officials haven't released documents requested under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act, or released redacted copies of the documents, and haven't given a reason for refusing to fulfill the request. The lawsuit claims Tontitown officials eventually said they have no records subject to disclosure.

The 911 call was initially answered at the Washington County Sheriff's Office and subsequently transferred to Tontitown police, according to the lawsuit.

The Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette filed a Freedom of Information Act request for the 911 call recording on June 10 after Springdale police denied an FOIA request for the call. A copy of the 911 call was obtained by In Touch magazine of Englewood Cliffs, N.J., through an earlier FOI request by the magazine.

In Touch's account of the recording says the caller identified himself as a Washington County case worker for the state Department of Human Services. He was quoted as giving the Duggars' address and saying: "We have an investigation, and I guess they're not being cooperative. We have to see the child to make sure the child is all right. So we just need police assistance."

Attorneys for Springdale denied the newspaper's FOI request in June.

The city cited court orders by Washington County Circuit Judge Stacey Zimmerman. Those orders forbade release of records arising from the investigation into Josh Duggar's conduct while he was a teenager and ordered the destruction of a police report on the matter.

Attorneys for the city requested a ruling from Zimmerman on whether the 911 recording was subject to FOI in light of those orders. On Aug. 20, Zimmerman said the documents are outside the scope of any orders she issued related to a 2007 Families in Need of Services case involving the Duggar family.

The case is assigned to Judge Beth Storey Bryan.

The Duggars were stars of the now-canceled 19 Kids and Counting television show. The TLC cable network canceled the show after learning that oldest child, Josh Duggar, had fondled four of his sisters and a babysitter years earlier.

NW News on 08/27/2015

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