Missouri media associations sue Highway Patrol over blacked-out crash reports

MISSOURI (KQTV) -- The Missouri Press and Broadcasters Associations announced a lawsuit against the Missouri State Highway Patrol, saying the agency is illegally blacking out basic information in crash reports.

The two associations are joined by Gray Local Media, Inc., Warden Publishing Company and managing editor Roxie Murphy.

According to a news release, for nearly 30 years, MSHP posted traffic and boating crash reports online without redactions and once told the public on its website that "all information on crash reports is considered an 'open record' and cannot be withheld from the public."

In 2024, access to records changed, as Patrol began redacting names and other details both in its online database and in responses to records requests, according to the release.

Missouri's Sunshine Law states the incident reports "shall be open records."

"Crash reports help communities learn who was hurt or killed, let families and neighbors get accurate information, and help the public spot dangerous roads and intersections," the release said. "Journalists have long used unredacted reports to verify the identities of people who died on Missouri roads and to report on public safety and vehicle safety. Without them, it is far harder to hold public agencies accountable or to tell Missourians what is happening in their own communities."

The petition, filed Friday in Cole County, asks the court to order MSHP to provide full, unredacted crash reports and to restore complete public online access, and it seeks civil penalties and attorney's fees.

“Missourians have had the right to see these records for decades, and that right did not expire when the MSHP unilaterally changed its policy,” said Chad Stebbins, executive director of the Missouri Press Association. “We are standing up for all Missourians who deserve to know and understand the safety issues surrounding roads they travel every day. When the government blacks out the name of someone killed on a public road, it is the whole community that is kept in the dark."

“People have been calling our member stations upset that they didn’t know that their neighbors or prominent community members were in a crash,” said Chad Mahoney, president and CEO of the Missouri Broadcasters Association. “Our stations serve people who deserve accurate, timely information about what happens on Missouri roads and waterways. We are asking the court to restore the access Missourians have always had."