We’ve seen mistakes made in responding to public records requests that result in people’s personnel information or identity information being improperly released. But if there’s a mistake, and the receiving party is a journalist who agrees NOT to use the information and who destroys the data, should those whose data were revealed be entitled to $400,000 for alleged harm suffered as a result of that breach? $400,000 for….. exactly what concrete harm or injury or is this a “Give us $400k because of what could happen” claim? Rachel Riley reports:
Two high-ranking El Paso County Sheriff’s employees are threatening to sue the county for $400,000 over a clerical error that revealed personal information to a Colorado Springs weekly newspaper.
The county rejected their demand as “outrageous,” contending that sheriff’s Lt. Bill Huffor and his wife, Janet Huffor, the Sheriff’s Chief of Staff, have failed to demonstrate that they’ve been harmed by a county employee mistakenly sending unredacted copies of their personnel files to the Colorado Springs Independent in response to an open records request.
[…]
The Huffors’ attorney, Erin Jensen, alleged in a May 16 demand letter that the county violated the couple’s right to privacy, and that the disclosure could threaten the couple’s safety. Jensen added that Bill Huffor “routinely works operations against violent drug cartels” who could use the information to “exact revenge” against him or his family.
Read more on The Gazette.