Last month, advocates for Nizah Morris received a glimmer of hope when the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office submitted an affidavit to the state Office of Open Records.
The OOR is reviewing an open-records dispute between the D.A.’s Office and PGN involving 911 recordings for the Morris incident.
The D.A.’s Office’s Sept. 30 affidavit states that the office doesn’t have “actual” Morris 911 recordings.
Other language in the affidavit indicates the D.A.’s Office meant it doesn’t have 911 recordings originating internally at the agency. Since 911 recordings originate at the police department, the affidavit raised the question of whether it’s possible the D.A.’s Office has Morris 911 recordings not yet released to the public.
That’s good news for those hoping to understand what happened to Morris on Dec. 22, 2002.
On that date, the trans woman entered a police vehicle for a Center City “courtesy ride.” Shortly after the ride, passing motorists found Morris with a head injury. She died two days later, due to blunt-force head trauma and, almost 14 years later, her homicide remains unsolved.
In 2008, city officials released dozens of Morris 911 recordings. But concerns were raised because some of the recordings appeared to be altered, and others were either withheld, lost or destroyed.
One of the recordings released to the public took place at 3:13 a.m., shortly before the courtesy ride began. The recording indicates a responding officer knew Morris was a 911 subject by then. But the recording has a four-second gap filled with static.
Other recordings indicate that responding officers didn’t know Morris was a 911 subject until after her head injury, when they recorded her as a “hospital case.” That would explain why the earlier courtesy ride wasn’t documented in the paperwork they submitted to supervisors.
Responding officers also didn’t document Morris’ fatal head injury, apparently due to a police directive that “hospital cases” not officially transported by police don’t have their injuries documented.
Missing information in the 3:13 a.m. recording — along with other missing recordings — could clarify when officers realized they were officially responding to Morris as a 911 subject.
Next month, the OOR is expected to rule on PGN’s request for a certified copy of all Morris 911 recordings in the possession of the D.A.’s Office.
Melissa B. Melewsky, media law counsel for the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association, issued this statement about the D.A.’s Sept. 30 affidavit:
“Agencies denying records under the Right-to-Know Law need to provide a clear basis for denial that leaves no question about records’ status. It’s up to the OOR now to decide whether that’s been provided in this case. And in light of the significant litigation in this case, the DAO needs to be as clear and unambiguous as possible with its terminology.”
PGN also has an open-records request with the D.A.’s Office for computer-aided dispatch records in the Morris case. That request remains pending in Commonwealth Court.
PGN is seeking a certified copy of dispatch records for a traffic stop initiated by Officer Elizabeth Skala, while she was still assigned to handle Morris.
In June, a Philadelphia judge ruled the D.A.’s Office already certified its dispatch records for Skala’s traffic stop in a February 2015 affidavit. But the D.A.’s Office is appealing that ruling in Commonwealth Court.
In 2013, after a 10-year review, the city’s Police Advisory Commission took an unprecedented step of recommending state and federal probes of the Morris case. But so far, no state or federal agency appears to be investigating the case.