Story County Blocked From Releasing FirstNet Records

Story County Sheriff Paul Fitzgerald's communications about a $7 billion nationwide wireless system for first responders will be excluded from open records laws, a U.S. District Court Judge ruled.

Fitzgerald, who sits on the First Responder Network Authority, a federal board overseeing the network's creation, shared a letter with government investigators saying that there was a conflict of interest between FirstNet board members and wireless carriers and that the system has been developed without a “public safety point of view,” according to Politico.

Fitzgerald wouldn't elaborate on the evidence he might have, so Politico filed an open records request asking Fitzgerald's office to release emails sent between March 1 and June 30 about FirstNet, wireless companies and more, a report in the Ames Tribune said.

The Story County Board of Supervisors originally granted the request but a U.S. District Court judge has barred Story County from releasing the emails stating the information could “cause 'immediate and irreparable harm' if released.” The judge granted a temporary restraining order preventing the release of the documents, reports state.

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