Parish: East Baton Rouge
Police Department: Louisiana State Police
The American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana, together with White & Case LLP, successfully petitioned the 19th Judicial District Court for a writ of mandamus to compel the Louisiana State Police to produce documents requested by Malikah Asante-Chioke, whose father was killed by police in 2021.
On May 31, 2024, Ms. Asante-Chioke submitted nine public records requests to the Louisiana State Police. The requests pertained to her father’s shooting, the personnel records of officers involved, and any records of policing procedures relating to de-escalation and interacting with people experiencing mental health crises.
The Louisiana State Police denied each request, citing Louisiana Revised Statute 44:3(A)(1), which exempts from disclosure where there is “pending criminal litigation or any criminal litigation which can be reasonably anticipated[. . . ].” After multiple efforts by Ms. Asante-Chioke to clarify whether this exemption applied to each request, the ACLU of Louisiana and White & Case LLP filed a petition for writ of mandamus on August 22, 2024.
Before the court date, the Louisiana State Police produced nearly 700 pages of previously withheld documents it acknowledged were not exempt, but cited two (other) statutory exceptions and the officers’ right to privacy in withholding more documents.
On September 23, 2024, after a trial via summary proceedings held in the 19th Judicial District Court, the Court granted Ms. Asante-Chioke’s writ of mandamus in full, ordering the Louisiana State Police to produce all documents responsive to Ms. Asante-Chioke’s request within 45 days. Under the Public Records Law provisions for prevailing parties, Ms. Asante-Chioke was also awarded attorney’s fees.
Ms. Asante-Chioke is represented in this matter by Andrew Perry at the ACLU of Louisiana and Joline Desruisseaux at White & Case LLP.