Greenville police are withholding cyclist shooting reports in violation of law

Police reports from the fatal shooting of a cyclist in a Greenville neighborhood and the fatal shooting by police of the cyclist's alleged killer are being withheld from the public in violation of the law.

According to the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act, public bodies such as law-enforcement agencies are to make reports that document the location, nature and substance of any alleged crime publicly available for inspection within 14 days.

As of midday May 19, the Greenville Police Department has provided The Greenville News only two pages of a report from the cyclist's shooting. The first page has just one line of text from the reporting officer: "I arrived at the location in response to a disturbance call." The second, supplemental page includes just a two-sentence narrative: "At 5/09/21 at or around 1050 I responded to Rocky Slope Road for the report of a disturbance. My BWC (body-worn camera) was activated."

The city is violating state FOIA law by withholding additional reports associated with the case.

"SC FOIA is clear that reports which disclose the nature, substance, and location of an alleged crime must be provided upon verbal request within 14 days of the crime being reported," Taylor Smith, an attorney based in Columbia who represents the South Carolina Press Association, said in an email. "It is typical for law enforcement to create a report when an officer or deputy is dispatched in these instances, but it is also unfortunately common for law enforcement to then say that they don’t have to give all these reports over to an interested party. These actions not only further imperil public confidence in law enforcement during these uncertain times but they also violate state law."

Greenville cycling community mourns:Greenville cycling community mourns death of man shot while riding bike on Mother's Day

SCPA Executive Director Bill Rogers said the state's FOIA law allows for various exemptions, such as in cases when releasing certain information would interfere with a law-enforcement proceeding or endanger an individual, but he said those exemptions would be cause for specific redactions, not completely withholding entire reports.

"A Iot of it may be complicated, but the law is simple — they have to release it," Rogers said.

Rogers said the actions of Greenville officials obstruct transparency and reflect disregard for compliance with state law over matters of public safety.

"It certainly doesn't build trust," Rogers said.

David "Whit" Oliver, 44, died May 9, Mother's Day, after being shot multiple times just two blocks from his home in the Hollingsworth Park area of Greenville.

Oliver, who once cycled professionally in Europe and continued to ride regularly with friends in the Upstate, according to his friends, was riding his bicycle at the time of the shooting, Greenville police said. Police responded to the scene near Rocky Slope Road and, based on witness interviews, tracked down the suspect, Jeffrey Mark Murray, 62, who stopped his vehicle outside the Greenville Fire Department station on Verdae Boulevard.

Murray exchanged gunfire with police officers and was fatally shot, Police Chief Howie Thompson said during a press conference later May 9.

On May 10, The News asked for reports associated with the case and was told such reports were not yet "finalized."

The initial reports that included the broad sentences about responding to a disturbance was emailed to The News on May 18 after multiple requests and after a reporter went to the Greenville County Law Enforcement Center to request to inspect the reports that are to be made available according to state law.

Samantha Halbrook, an employee for the Greenville County Department of Public Safety's Records Management Services Division, declined to provide a copy of the reports.

"The captain says we don’t have the time to really pull it," she said. "It’s a complicated case."

Halbrook provided instructions on how to submit a formal records request, which allows for an agency to have more time to respond to the request and even more time to produce the requested documents.

In response, a reporter cited the state statute requiring availability of reports within an incident's 14-day window.

"My hands are tied," Halbrook said.

Capt. Jinny Moran, who oversees the county's records division, said the documents are being withheld because the investigation is ongoing.

"You can submit a request, but we’ll respond back to you saying we can only release that first page (that included only one line)," Moran said. "This is an active law enforcement investigation."

An active or ongoing law enforcement investigation is not a permissible reason in itself to deny the public's right to inspect police documents, according to state statute.

Steve Bruss, executive editor of The Greenville News, said denying the public's right to review police documents that fall under the FOIA law undermines the trust people have in public employees.

"The public has a right to know how law enforcement is investigating a case. People have a right to know what’s going on in their neighborhood and how police respond to calls. Public bodies have an obligation to follow the law," Bruss said. "We simply ask that public bodies in our communities follow the law so the people who live here can trust that they are operating in the open."

Check back for more on this developing story.

Daniel J. Gross is an investigative watchdog reporter focusing on public safety and law enforcement for The Greenville News. Reach him at dgross@greenvillenews.com or on Twitter @danieljgross. Subscribe to The Greenville News at greenvillenews.com/subscribe.