HOXIE, Ark. – The City of Hoxie is facing legal action over alleged violations of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
On Monday, Joey McCutchen and Stephen Napurano filed a lawsuit against the City of Hoxie on behalf of their client, Darrell Pickney. The lawsuit claims that the city, along with Mayor Dennis Coggins, violated Pickney’s rights under the Arkansas FOIA on three occasions.
The first alleged violation occurred when Mayor Coggins prevented Pickney, a current Hoxie city councilmember, from entering Hoxie City Hall. Following this incident, Pickney requested a copy of the surveillance footage through a FOIA request, only to be informed by City Attorney Nancy Hall that he would be charged for accessing the video.
Subsequently, Hall filed a complaint against Pickney, claiming that his FOIA request constituted a contract with the city. Pickney’s lawsuit contends that the city unlawfully charged him for retrieving public records, a practice deemed improper by the Arkansas Supreme Court.
Additionally, Pickney alleges that the city refused to produce documents in response to two more FOIA requests. Despite Pickney’s inquiries, the release states City Attorney Hall said that no further requests would be honored until Pickney paid for retrieving the video footage.
In February, Pickney submitted a third FOIA request seeking video footage of a city council meeting. During this meeting, Mayor Coggins reportedly instructed him to remain quiet and even threatened to him removed from the meeting if he continued asking questions. Not surprisingly, the city failed to provide the requested footage, further violating FOIA regulations.
McCutchen emphasized the importance of transparency in government, using this case as an example of why the state needs better open records laws.
“This is another example of the need to enshrine the right to transparency in our state constitution,” McCutchen said in a release. “The proposed constitutional amendment/act would hold wrongdoers who knowingly and purposely violate FOIA to be held personally accountable. Further, the act would allow citizens to bring their grievances before a people’s commission without hiring a lawyer or incurring attorney fees or costs in a non-threatening environment.”
The initiative aims to hold violators accountable and establish a state commission to assist citizens with records requests. Additionally, a proposed constitutional amendment would enshrine the citizens’ right to government transparency and make it harder for legislative changes to weaken FOIA laws.
Together, these measures seek to set a standard for government transparency and accountability in Arkansas.
Read the full complaint: Pickney, D. Complaint 38CV-24-37
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Okay so it’s pretty obvious that coggins needs to be replaced! Even his statement’s like he didn’t know about the “cotton pickin” FOLA laws .. he has always been crooked, he kept it a secret about the police chief pawning city property. He threatened to run over a citizen, officers witnessed these threats and did nothing because THE OFFICER has no real training! Then Lawrence county sheriff’s department won’t get involved I mean really. SMH