Former Orion adviser David Waddell sued the City of Chico on Feb. 18 for allegedly not disclosing public information in four different state open records requests, all involving the use of lethal force by Chico Police. 

Mayor Andrew Coolidge told The Orion that he could not comment on the pending litigation. 

Aaron Field, Waddell’s attorney, said the lawsuit seeks to enforce Waddell’s right of access to California public records. The lawsuit also asks for a judicial declaration that the City of Chico has violated state law.

“This is a real problem, especially with respect to records like these about uses of force that result in death,” Field said. “This kind of use of force is the apex of the exercise of government power, and it’s the kind of exercise that, in my view, is particularly important for the public to be able to review and assess for itself.” 

Waddell, a retired Chico State journalism professor, currently writes for Chico Sol as an award-winning investigative journalist. 

The lawsuit alleges that Waddell requested public information in November 2020 and February 2021 regarding investigations into the Chico Police killings of Eddie Sanchez, Desmond Phillips, Tyler Rushing and Stephen Vest. Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey ultimately concluded that all four killings were justifiable force, and no charges were filed. 

Waddell’s lawsuit claims the city did not even respond to all of his public information requests. When the city did respond, it did not adequately disclose all records in its possession. 

In May 2021, Waddell asked the city to complete its processing of the requests and lawfully respond to requests it allegedly ignored. 

Soon after, Field said, the city claimed to have disclosed all the records in its possession. After looking at what was disclosed, Field concluded that many relevant records were not disclosed.

The city then referred Waddell and Field to Butte County, which did have some of the records, but refused to disclose them to Waddell. The county offered to provide the city with any records that it had lost or did not retain under the premise that Waddell could then request those records from the city.

Waddell and Field agreed to this arrangement, with the contingency that both parties would provide these records in a timely manner. 

In September 2021, Waddell renewed his request for the records. 

The city estimated that it could provide records in a month, but only for one of the four requests, Field said. But ultimately, after another lengthy delay, the city responded that none of the four requests would be disclosed. 

Waddell and his attorney sent another letter in December 2021 to the city, demanding disclosure by mid-January 2022. The city refused this request, claiming the process would take an indefinite amount of time. “We really tried hard to avoid litigation,” Field said. “Regretfully, we ended up having to file a lawsuit to seek an order compelling the city to comply with its disclosure obligations.”

In the complaint, Waddell cited Senate Bill No.16, which went into effect on Jan. 1. This new law contains a 45-day disclosure requirement for public records such as those requested by Waddell.

“That bill confirms the city’s unlawfulness in its failure to disclose these records,” Field claims.

Waddell’s complaint also quotes the California Supreme Court: “Openness in government is essential to the function of a democracy.”

*As noted in the article, journalist Dave Waddell was the longtime adviser to The Orion. He is also a personal friend of current Orion adviser Pate McMichael. 

Ava Norgrove can be reached at [email protected].