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| Officers sue over privacy breach |
| By The Grand Rapids Press |
| Published: 05/10/2004 |
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Michigan is being sued by prison officers who said they have suffered because their names, Social Security numbers and birth dates were disclosed to dangerous maximum-security inmates in Ionia. Some officers "have been subjected to death threats and harassment, not just at the workplace but at their homes," attorney Marshall Widick said in the lawsuit. The Michigan Department of Corrections acknowledged the disclosures occurred but said they were an "oversight." Two prisoners preparing for misconduct hearings in 2002 obtained an internal memo that had personal information about officers. The information was not deleted by a hearing officer before the document was released. The inmates passed the personal data to other prisoners and to people on the outside, according to the lawsuit. Seven officers and their union filed a lawsuit in federal court in Grand Rapids, claiming state and federal constitutional rights were violated. The MDOC tried to have the case dismissed on technical grounds, including immunity for certain public employees. In a victory for the officers, U.S. Chief District Judge Robert Holmes Bell scratched a portion of the lawsuit earlier this year, but let other parts stand. Widick could not be reached for comment. Corrections department spokesman Leo Lalonde said he is barred from answering questions about the case. In court papers filed last week, attorneys on both sides said they were discussing ways to settle the case. |
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