Police Must Obey the Law, Too: Goldwater Challenges St. Louis PD Over Public Records Violations

John Thomas owns a property in the City of St. Louis that he uses as a short-term rental. Several months ago, the space was being rented by several motorcycle enthusiasts from Ohio, who had come to town for an event. On a Sunday morning, four police vehicles slowly rolled past the property before a few police officers emerged and told the guests that someone had reported that the building had been condemned. There does not appear to have been any complaint about the behavior of the guests—no suggestion about noise violations or inappropriate behavior—and the officer specifically noted they had checked their emails before arriving and found no indication of a condemnation notice related to the property. After an officer questioned the guests, the officer departed with no law enforcement action taken against the guests. Understandably, the guests were unnerved, and Mr. Thomas was also concerned about the incident.

Two days later, Mr. Thomas requested a range of records from the police department seeking to understand the origin and nature of the complaint that triggered the police response. He also sought information regarding communications within the police department about the complaint and the department’s seemingly disproportionate response. His request identified several categories of information he was seeking, and it properly and thoroughly invoked his rights under the Sunshine Law.

Missouri law required the police department to provide Thomas with complete, unaltered and unedited copies of the records he had requested within 30 days of his request. The Department was aware of its requirements under the law for at least three reasons: (1) Thomas’s request specifically pointed out the statutory requirement, (2) a court in an earlier case had entered a judgment against the police department for failing to comply with this requirement, and (3) the Goldwater Institute had recently won another court judgment (in St. Louis Post-Dispatch v. St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department) that the police department had purposefully violated the Sunshine Law.

Nevertheless, the police department did not comply with the law regarding Thomas’s April 2026 public records request. Indeed, the police department did not respond at all to Thomas’s request for more than two months, at which time it addressed only one of the several categories of information Thomas had requested. Even after two additional months had passed, and the Goldwater Institute sent the police department formal notice of its Sunshine Law violation, the police department still delayed another 30 days before producing any of the records Thomas had requested in April.

The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department has been found in violation of the Sunshine Law several times. Yet, it continues to ignore the requirements of open government.

The Goldwater Institute filed suit on Thomas’s behalf to hold the police department accountable to the requirements of state law, and to ensure the right of Missouri citizens to transparent government is vindicated. violating Compliance with the Sunshine Law is mandatory—not discretionary – and government agencies, including the St. Louis Police Department  will be held  accountable for  disobeying the law’s requirements.