On Friday evening, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson rescinded an earlier press release that said her department would no longer provide basic driver record information to the media.
Earlier in the day, Benson’s office said the move was a response to media using information about a Grand Rapids man who was shot by police earlier this month. That shooting is still under investigation by Michigan State Police, but Benson’s first press release reads:
“The Michigan State Department condemns the murder of Patrick Lyoya. Additionally, the Department will no longer provide Mr. Lyoya’s driving record and personal information to the media, nor will it provide the media with the records and information of other victims of violence. The department provided Mr. Lyoya’s file to three media outlets before acknowledging that it was included as an irrelevant detail that falsely suggests he was guilty of being shot in the back of the neck by a Grand Rapids police officer .
In addition, the department will pursue ongoing review and revision of the policies by which it provides personal information of any Michigan resident to third parties. As we previously noted, Michigan’s current law is very broad, and we believe state legislators should strengthen the law to demonstrate that they value the privacy of Michigan residents over corporate profits. In the absence of legislative action, we will continue our own review.
But Friday night, Benson’s office issued a new press release after downstate media complained that the previous announcement violated state news laws.
“Earlier today, the Michigan Department of State released a statement regarding the release of driver records and other personal information to the media that suggested a policy change. There is no policy change. for the moment.
The department is currently reviewing how it provides any Michigan resident’s driver abstract to third parties to ensure that we balance the critical importance of government transparency and access to information with the need to protect the Michiganders privacy.
While we are conducting this review, there will be no changes to our current policy or to media or public access to this data.
Benson did not name the three outlets in question, but the Detroit Free Press printed that he believed he was one of the three.
