ACPC and Lucy Parsons Labs win open records lawsuit against Atlanta Police Foundation

The Atlanta Community Press Collective (ACPC) and Lucy Parsons Labs (LPL) won a decisive victory today for transparency in Georgia. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Jane Barwick decided in favor of ACPC and LPL in our open records lawsuit against the Atlanta Police Foundation (APF). 

“This Court concludes that APF was under a duty to provide records to ACPC and Lucy Parsons Labs pursuant to the Open Records Act,” Barwick wrote in her decision. 

Today’s decision will ensure that organizations like the Atlanta Police Foundation—organizations that function for and on behalf of governments in Georgia—must be responsive to records requests under the Georgia Open Records Act (ORA) insofar as they operate for or on behalf of governments. 

While we’re pleased with the result of the lawsuit, we’re frustrated that it required a lawsuit to confirm what we already knew to be true: the Atlanta Police Foundation should be responsive to records requests regarding its operations for and on behalf of the City of Atlanta. 

We were also disappointed to learn during trial that the APF had previously responded to records requests made by mainstream Atlanta media outlets the Atlanta Journal Constitution and WSB-TV. It became evident during the trial that the APF chose not to respond to our requests because of a dislike for ACPC and LPL’s work. Judge Barwick unequivocally addressed this issue as the final statement in her decision, writing, “[L]et the record also be clear that the identity of the requestor does not determine whether records are public.” 

In 2023, ACPC and LPL began submitting records requests to APF. We requested the organization’s board meeting minutes and documents related to ‘Cop City.’ Our requests went unanswered. That year, we began working with the University of Georgia School of Law First Amendment Clinic to obtain the requested documents. The clinic contacted the foundation about the requests, but we still received no response. 

It was only when the clinic filed a lawsuit on our behalf in 2024 that the APF first responded to some of our requests, while refusing to turn over or denying the existence of most of the documents we requested. 

After the former dean of UGA’s Law School determined that the First Amendment Clinic had a conflict with our case, Joy Ramsingh stepped in. Joy is an open records specialist who, in December 2024, won an open records case on behalf of Campside Media against the Georgia Bureau of Investigation over Cop City-related records. Luke Andrews—with two Georgia Supreme Court ORA victories under his belt—joined the team soon after. Samantha Hamilton, who shepherded this lawsuit from the beginning and joined ACPC as in-house counsel last year, rounded out our trial team. 

Judge Barwick ordered the APF to turn over all the documents responsive to our requests within 30 days. Barwick previously reviewed those documents and determined none are exempt from disclosure under the Georgia Open Records Act. 

We believe in the importance of transparency and look forward to a thorough review of the documents that APF has fought so hard to keep hidden. We can’t do this work without a community that has our backs. If you want to support our fight for transparency and accountability, consider making a one-time or recurring donation to the Atlanta Community Press Collective or Lucy Parsons Labs.