Table of Contents
A journalist's simple request for public records at the Lexington Police Department revealed an institution in full defensive mode. What should have been a routine transparency inquiry instead exposed a department seemingly terrified of federal scrutiny.
The Records That Started It All
The investigation began with disturbing allegations of police misconduct that had caught the attention of the Justice Department. Reports described officers using tasers "as cattle prods" to move subjects along and shocking one man "in the teens of times" simply because he was being uncooperative. These weren't isolated incidents but part of a pattern serious enough to trigger federal oversight.
Armed with specific knowledge of these cases, the journalist crossed the street from conducting interviews to request the corresponding incident reports and body camera footage. Public records laws guarantee access to such materials, making this a straightforward request for any transparent agency.
A Wall of Silence
What happened next defied basic principles of government accountability. The moment the journalist mentioned the Justice Department investigation, the department's response was immediate and absolute: "No comment."
But the stonewalling didn't stop there. When pressed about who was authorizing this blanket refusal to engage, officers couldn't or wouldn't even identify their own chain of command. The person in charge "wasn't there," they claimed, yet refused to provide a name or title.
The Runaround Begins
The circular conversation that followed would be comedic if the stakes weren't so serious. Officers insisted the journalist should already know who he was looking for while simultaneously refusing to identify anyone in leadership positions. They deflected every attempt to establish basic facts about the department's structure.
This wasn't mere bureaucratic inefficiency. This was an organization that had clearly received instructions to provide no information whatsoever about ongoing federal scrutiny.
What They're Really Hiding
The department's extreme defensiveness raises uncomfortable questions about what these records might contain. If the alleged taser incidents were justified uses of force, why not release the reports? If body camera footage exonerates officers, why not make it available?
Instead, the Lexington Police Department chose total information lockdown, treating public records requests like enemy intelligence gathering. Their behavior suggests an agency with something significant to hide from both federal investigators and the community they serve.
Watch the full confrontation to see exactly how far this department will go to avoid accountability.
