The appellant is the father of Soleiman Faqiri, an inmate who died after an altercation with correctional officers at Central East Correctional Centre on December 15, 2016. The Kawartha Lakes Police Service (KLPS), which investigated the inmate’s death, disclosed some records to the appellant in response to his access request under the Act. However, it denied access to other records under a number of exemptions, including sections 8(1)(e) (endanger life or safety), 9(1) (relations with other governments), 13 (threaten safety or health), 14(1) (personal privacy) and 38(a)/(b) (discretion to refuse access to requester’s own personal information). The appellant raised the public interest override in section 16 of the Act and claimed that there is a compelling public interest in disclosing these records that clearly outweighs the purposes of the exemptions claimed by the KLPS.
In this order, the adjudicator finds that the main contents of a significant number of records that qualify for exemption under section 14(1) of the Act must be disclosed to the appellant because the public interest override in section 16 applies to them. These records include 41 typewritten brief synopses of video witness statements that correctional staff provided to the KLPS, a typewritten witness statement provided by a correctional staff person, and 15 handwritten notes prepared by KLPS officers. He orders the KLPS to disclose these records to the appellant but to sever some personal information of correctional staff and other inmates.
The adjudicator also finds that the public interest override in section 16 does not apply to records relating to an Institutional Crisis Intervention Team that was put on standby at the correctional centre on the day the inmate died and the video witness statements of correctional staff and other inmates. He upholds the KLPS’s decision to withhold those records under sections 9(1)(b) and 14(1) respectively.
Finally, the adjudicator finds that the discretionary exemptions in sections 8(1)(e) and 13 do not apply to any information of correctional staff in the records. However, he finds that some information that was found to be exempt from disclosure under section 14(1)(k) (security) of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act in Order PO-4428 must also be found exempt from disclosure in the records at issue in this appeal under the equivalent provision in section 8(1)(k) of the Act.