Posted on 05/03/2011 11:48

HARRISBURG, Pa. - The Pennsylvania State Police has been ordered for a second time to release records sought by The Associated Press about work that its employees perform while they are off duty. A Commonwealth Court opinion filed Monday upheld an earlier decision by the state Office of Open Records.

The Pennsylvania State Troopers Association had challenged the office's decision last year, contending that releasing the records could act as a road map to someone seeking to harm an off-duty trooper.

However, the court's majority opinion written by Judge Johnny J. Butler said the union and state police did not prove that releasing the records would endanger troopers, particularly after the AP suggested that the state police could withhold the names and schedules of troopers involved in undercover work.

"While we appreciate the potential danger PSP troopers may face on and off-duty, the evidence submitted in this case does not establish that disclosure of the supplementary employment forms and supporting documents, ... when appropriately redacted, make it more likely than not that PSP employees are at a risk of substantial and demonstrable risk of physical harm or to their personal security," Butler wrote.

AP's lawyer Gayle Sproul said the court took very seriously a requirement that an agency that wants to withhold records provide evidence of a "substantial and demonstrable risk of physical harm," rather than relying on examples with circumstances that were not present in this case.

Troopers' social security numbers and home addresses also would be withheld.

An Office of Open Records appeals officer said in her decision last year that state police may legally black out home addresses of law-enforcement officers and Social Security numbers for all employees. But she said state police failed to establish that information about outside jobs is protected by exemptions in the state Right-to-Know Law.

A lawyer for the troopers' union, Todd Eagen, said Monday he did not know yet whether the union would appeal to the state Supreme Court. Union president Bruce Edwards said in a statement that he could not comment at length because he had not had a chance to thoroughly review the court's opinion.

"The PSTA believes the safety of troopers and their families should concern all Pennsylvanians," Edwards said.

Last year, a moonlighting state trooper was connected to off-field incidents involving quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. The Pittsburgh Steelers star sometimes used the trooper friend as his personal assistant.

The AP's request had sought supplementary employment requests of current state police employees made since Jan. 1, 2005, and any responses, decisions and records related to them.