Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson late Friday reversed an earlier press release that said that her department would no longer provide basic driver’s record information to the media.
Benson’s office earlier in the day had said the move was in response to the media using information about a Grand Rapids man who was shot by police earlier this month. That shooting is still under investigation by the Michigan State Police, but Benson’s first press release read this way:
“The Michigan Department of State condemns the killing of Patrick Lyoya. Moreover, the Department will no longer provide the driving record and personal information of Mr. Lyoya to the media, nor will it provide to media such records and information of other victims of violence. The department provided Mr. Lyoya’s record to three media outlets before recognizing that it was being included as an irrelevant detail that wrongly suggests he is culpable for being shot in the back of the head by a Grand Rapids police officer.
Additionally, the department will continue ongoing review and revision of the policies by which it provides the personal information of any Michigan resident to third parties. As we have stated previously, current Michigan law is very broad, and we believe state legislators should strengthen the law to demonstrate that they value the privacy of Michiganders over corporate profits. In the absence of legislative action, we will continue our own review.”
But Friday night, Benson’s office issued a new press release after downstate media outlets complained that the earlier announcement violated state information laws.
“Earlier today the Michigan Department of State issued a statement regarding the release of driver records and other personal information to the media that suggested a change in policy. There is no change in policy at this time.
The department is currently reviewing the manner in which it provides the driver record of any Michigan resident to third parties to ensure we balance the critical importance of government transparency and access to information with the need to protect the privacy of Michiganders.
While we conduct this review there will be no changes to our current policy, nor will there be any changes to media or public access to such data.”
Benson did not name the three media outlets in question, but the Detroit Free Press printed that it believed that it was one of the three.
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