Why??
In a June 20 letter from the FBI to the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office obtained by the Sentinel, the agency requests that law enforcement “immediately notify the FBI of any [records] requests your agency received” so “the FBI can seek to prevent disclosure through appropriate channels, as necessary.”
A spokeswoman for the Sheriff’s Office told the Sentinel that the FBI sent them the letter and “instructed us to forward it to anyone requesting records.”
In the letter, the FBI contended that releasing records would “adversely affect our ability to effectively investigate the shooting and bring the matter to resolution.”
The letter also claims that releasing records could jeopardize the safety of witnesses and first responders.
Paul Wysopal, a special agent in the FBI’s Tampa field office who signed the letter, refused the Sentinel’s request for comment.
Barbara Petersen, president of the First Amendment Foundation, told the Sentinel that the “FBI doesn’t have the authority to hijack Florida’s Constitution, which guarantees us a right of access to all non-exempt public records.”
