SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Two police officers involved in a shootout with a suspect in 2024 want their names to be protected from the view of the public, and they're asking the state Supreme Court for help.
The high court's ruling could make it possible for law enforcement officers to be considered "victims" of crimes and to have their names kept out of public documents under the auspices of Marsy's Law, which seeks to protect the rights of crime victims.
Bart Pfankuch
The justices heard oral arguments in the case during a traveling court session held Wednesday at the Hamre Recital Hall on the campus of Augustana University in Sioux Falls.
The case "State versus Albaidhani" centers around an April 3, 2024, incident in which two Sioux Falls officers stopped a vehicle and then exchanged gunfire with Samir Albaidhani. One officer and Albaidhani were shot but survived.
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As the criminal case progressed, the two officers' names were published in court documents, but they later asked a court to redact their names from future documents related to the case.
Marsy's Law is a constitutional amendment passed by South Dakota voters in 2016 that provides crime victims with a variety of rights, including being treated with fairness and respect and to be free from intimidation or harassment.
The law includes, "The right, upon request, to prevent the disclosure to the public, or the defendant or anyone acting on behalf of the defendant in the criminal case, of information or records that could be used to locate or harass the victim or the victim's family."
A circuit judge ruled that the two officer names or other identifying information could not be redacted from documents. The court noted that "a name alone does not provide location details about the individual. Nothing in the plain language of Marsy's Law prevents the disclosure of a victim's name."
The ruling was appealed and is now being considered by the Supreme Court.
The officers were represented by Jeffrey R. Beck, an attorney representing the Fraternal Order of Police.
Beck told the court that releasing names of victims, including police officers, makes it easy for someone to find out where they live. Beck said he searched his own name online and found extensive information about himself, including everywhere he had lived back to his childhood.
Attorneys for Albaidhani included Kylie Beck and Emily Herbert of the Minnehaha County Public Defender's Office. Kylie Beck argued that keeping people's names out of public records could make it difficult for lawyers to contact them or subpoena them for interviews. She also said redacting names could interfere with a defendant's right to due process.
Among other questions, justices asked the attorneys why the decision on redacting names couldn't simply be handled by judges in individual cases.
A ruling on the case is expected in the coming months.
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