Confidential interviews with three police officers and a sergeant involved in the Nizah Morris incident are among a batch of records the Police Advisory Commission is seeking from the District Attorney’s office.
During an Oct. 5 visit to the D.A.’s office, a PAC delegation tagged key interviews with Sgt. Michael Dougherty and Officers Elizabeth Skala, Kenneth Novak and Thomas Berry for photocopying.
Morris was a transwoman found with a fatal head wound shortly after receiving a courtesy ride from Skala during the early-morning hours of Dec. 22, 2002.
All three officers reportedly spoke to Dougherty about the incident, but the content of their conversations remains shrouded in secrecy.
Morris died two days later from complications due to a fractured skull.
The PAC also is seeking from the D.A.’s office copies of the Morris autopsy, containing toxicology and medical reports issued by the city’s Office of the Medical Examiner.
Additionally, the PAC is seeking copies of interviews the D.A.’s office conducted with several civilian witnesses.
In May, the PAC issued a subpoena for all Morris items in the D.A.’s possession and a privilege log listing any items being withheld.
The D.A.’s office declined to comply with the subpoena.
Instead, a compromise was reached, permitting the PAC to view a file on Morris at the D.A.’s office.
The D.A.’s office also created a four-page privilege log of confidential Morris documents, and permitted the PAC to view — but not copy — all of the listed documents, except for internal staff memos.
At their Oct. 17 meeting, PAC members said they won’t seek copies of the memos due to the work-product privilege and other privileges invoked by the D.A.’s office.
PAC members also said they won’t release the confidential Morris records they obtain from the D.A.’s office “to any other entity or person.”
PAC chair Mu’min Islam said that’s consistent with a 1993 executive order creating the PAC, which states that confidential police documents obtained by the PAC shall not be released to the public.
But PAC members said they wish to retain the right to “cite, identify and quote from” all of the D.A.’s records on Morris they receive.
PAC counsel Michael B. Hayes said he would convey that expectation to the D.A.’s office.
Tasha Jamerson, a spokesperson for D.A. Seth Williams, had no comment on whether the D.A.’s Morris records could be made public at some point for a fuller understanding of the incident.
The police department’s Morris homicide file was lost in 2003, prompting a Philadelphia judge to order a reconstituted file. The judge also specified that PGN be granted access to the file.
In 2008, the D.A.’s office contributed some of its Morris investigative reports to the reconstituted police file, but said it wasn’t subject to the judge’s order because it’s a state agency.
Earlier this year, police located their lost Morris homicide file at the city Archives Unit. But the file appears to be missing several items, including 911 tapes of the incident.
It’s rare for members of the public to gain access to investigative records such as those being sought by the PAC.
State open-records laws across the country routinely exempt investigative records from the public domain.
Administrative subpoenas for criminal records get mixed results, as prosecutors genderally take the position that their release would jeopardize an ongoing investigation.
However, Pennsylvania’s Right-to-Know law permits the release of 911 recordings if a court orders it.
PGN is involved in litigation with the D.A.’s office over the acquisition of a 911 transcript in the Morris case under the state’s Right-to-Know law.
In a recent court filing, the D.A.’s office indicated that it has some form of the 911 transcript, but didn’t elaborate.
A 911 transcript isn’t on the privilege log, nor was one shown to the PAC delegation.
Other Morris items that remain unaccounted for include surveillance tapes near the crime scene and interviews with paramedics Stephen McCarthy and Teresa Height, who treated Morris at 16th and Walnut streets.
The PAC oversees investigations of alleged police misconduct and issues recommendations for remedial action when appropriate.
The 12 PAC members at the Oct. 17 meeting expressed hope that their inquiry into the Morris case will be concluded shortly.
Kathleen R. Padilla, an LGBT activist, commended the PAC for its perseverance in the case.
“The diligence and commitment of the PAC commissioners to obtain the release of information required to perform their oversight responsibilities give me hope for some truth and reconciliation,” Padilla told PGN. “Justice is another matter.”
Tim Cwiek can be reached at [email protected].
