A judge last month denied PGN’s request for access to all 911 recordings pertaining to the death of Nizah Morris that may be in the possession of the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office.
In a 10-page ruling, Common Pleas Judge Idee C. Fox said the recordings are exempt from disclosure under the state Criminal History Records Information Act and the state Right-to-Know Law because they pertain to an open homicide investigation.
“The tapes, having been gathered and retained pursuant to a criminal investigation, are surely investigative material of the sort contemplated by [the RTKL],” the Jan. 30 ruling states. “Presumably, being part of the materials collected by the [DA’s] Office in the course of its investigation of Nizah Morris’s death, the dispatch tapes would also reveal the progress of that investigation.”
Morris was a transgender woman found with a fatal head wound in 2002, shortly after receiving a courtesy ride from Philadelphia police.
She died two days later, on Dec. 24, 2002. The homicide remains unsolved.
Last week, PGN filed a motion asking for a new hearing, due to an email sent by Todd M. Mosser, chief of the D.A.’s civil-litigation unit, to the Police Advisory Commission, which is investigating the Morris incident.
The Jan. 23 email confirms that the D.A. has no Morris 911 tapes in its possession, but it does have two Morris 911 transcripts — both supplied by PGN during the course of the pending litigation.
The transcripts are kept in a civil-litigation file, separate from the D.A.’s Morris investigative file, according to the email.
At their Jan. 23 public meeting, PAC members agreed unanimously to request the transcripts from Mosser.
In October 2009, PGN gave the D.A.’s office one Morris transcript, divided into two parts: recordings made before her injury and recordings made after her injury.
This reporter made the transcript from a cassette tape leaked by a former police official in 2004.
PGN’s motion seeks the 911 material Mosser’s email references — to verify it’s the same as supplied by PGN — and a statement from the D.A.’s office that it has no other Morris 911 recordings, if that’s the case.
According to court records, the police department has no 911 tape or transcript in its Morris homicide file — official or otherwise.
At press time, the D.A.’s office hadn’t replied to the paper’s motion.
Melissa Melewsky, media law counsel for the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association, was disappointed with the court ruling.
“Considering the high profile of the Morris case and the important public interest at stake, it was disappointing to learn that the court did not find the 911 recordings and transcripts public under the RTKL,” Melewsky said. “Shining a light on the actions of police can help the public understand police actions and gauge their appropriateness. Likewise, access can operate to exonerate public officials facing scrutiny over their actions. But because access is limited, no one benefits from accountability.”
Anne Todd, mother of a gay son who befriended Morris, also called for the release of all Morris 911 recordings.
“Too many questions regarding the death of Nizah Morris remain unanswered,” Todd said. “It’s been nine years and her death is considered to be under investigation. What happened in the short time between the courtesy ride and her being found lying at 16th and Walnut? Why was she not given emergency treatment when found there? Are the police covering up their officers’ misconduct?”
Officers Elizabeth Skala, Kenneth Novak and Thomas Berry responded to Morris at various times in the early hours of Dec. 22.
Skala was the first to respond to Morris at Key West Bar, where a 911 call was placed on her behalf because she was staggering out front, severely intoxicated.
Skala transported Morris to 15th and Walnut, where she thought Morris lived, according to homicide records.
All three officers referred to Morris as a hospital case in their patrol logs — including log entries covering the time period when Morris was a ride recipient.
Advocates for Morris have expressed concern that the officers deliberately concealed the ride’s existence, for whatever reason.
Police sources have refuted that, saying the officers didn’t think Morris was the target of the 911 call at Key West, thus there was no need to document the ride.
However, 911 transmissions at Key West verify that Morris was the 911 target — including a call from Skala to a dispatcher.
“She’s just a DK [drunk person],” Skala told the dispatcher. “I’m gonna drop her off over at 15th and Walnut.”
A few minutes later, Berry responded to Morris at 16th and Walnut, where she was lying in the street, bleeding from the head.
On the tape, Berry tells the dispatcher that a “witness” told him Morris was an intoxicated “hospital case,” not a crime victim.
The witness to whom Berry referred on the tape has never been identified.
If Morris had been considered a crime victim, the officers would have been required to document the ride as part of the initial criminal investigation, police sources said.
The PAC’s next meeting will be held 6:30 p.m. Feb. 27 at the Marian Anderson Recreation Center in South Philadelphia. PAC members are expected to give an update on the Morris case at the meeting.
Tim Cwiek can be reached at [email protected].