A woman who was sexually assaulted by an on-duty Powell police officer five years ago is being allowed to have the Police Department’s internal investigation into the crime. Her attorney got the confidential reports only after obtaining the permission of the former officer himself and getting a court order.

District Court Judge Steven Cranfill told the city of Powell last week to give the woman’s attorneys the Police Department’s reports on Kirk Chapman — a former officer who subjected the woman to unwanted sexual touching and rubbing in September 2011.

The report was written by a Powell police supervisor, who was investigating the allegations to determine if Chapman had violated any department policies and whether he should be fired or otherwise disciplined.

That internal investigation was wholly separate from the one conducted by the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation, which was to determine if Chapman should be criminally prosecuted. The DCI investigation led to a charge of third-degree sexual assault; Chapman, 43, pleaded guilty to that charge last year.

Judge Cranfill’s order to turn over the department’s internal reports came in a civil lawsuit the former Powell woman is pressing against Chapman, the Powell Police Department and the city of Powell.

In exchange for the woman dismissing her claims against him as an individual, Chapman allowed the woman to view his personnel file and the investigative reports. However, the city of Powell had refused to turn over the reports without a court order.

Attorney Tom Thompson of Rawlins — hired by the city of Powell’s liability insurer — told Cranfill the city’s reluctance was “not because of any glaring wrongdoing by Chapman that is relevant to the claims in this case” and contained in the reports. In fact, Thompson indicated it would not take the woman’s attorney very long to go through the material, saying the investigatory file is “really not that substantial.”

The confidential reports will not become public, as they remain subject to a protective order.

The woman’s attorney, Brian Hanify of Cheyenne, suggested the city’s unwillingness to turn over the reports without a court order was the city’s attempt to absolve itself of any liability for releasing sensitive information about an employee.

Powell, Cody keep tight lid on personnel records

Powell Police Chief Roy Eckerdt has said Chapman was suspended as soon as the department learned of the allegations and that he never returned to duty. Chapman’s last day on the job was Nov. 23, 2011.

That same day, then-Police Chief Tim Feathers sent the woman a letter saying that “a thorough investigation has been conducted into your complaint and appropriate action has been taken.

“I am unable to release any information regarding the investigation, (its) outcome or actions taken,” Feathers wrote.

Under Powell Police Department policy, if the complaint was determined to be unfounded, lacking enough evidence or if Chapman was found to have acted properly, Feathers should have told the woman the results of the investigation. That Feathers did not provide any information about the investigation indicates the department found enough evidence to either support the woman’s claims or to support other allegations of misconduct by Chapman.

City officials have declined to say whether they fired or disciplined the officer, citing Wyoming law that makes government employees’ personnel records confidential. They also rejected Tribune requests for copies of Chapman’s letter of resignation and his resume, saying those documents are also confidential personnel records.

“We are not trying to hide anything, we just don’t feel like we have the statutory authority” to release that information, Powell City Attorney Sandra Kitchen said Tuesday. Kitchen said the city doesn’t want to put itself in a position where it could be sued by a former employee.

For his part, Chief Eckerdt said the decisions about what records can be made public are not up to him and his Police Department.

“When it comes to civil litigation and being involved in a civil litigation process, it really ties our hands in terms of what can and can’t be done,” he said.

Reluctance to turn over personnel-related records goes beyond the city of Powell.

The city of Cody has refused to provide the Tribune with a surveillance video showing a controversial 2013 strip search, Tasing and arrest by then-Assistant Cody Police Chief George Menig outside of the Cody Law Enforcement Center. Releasing the video of the arrest — which reportedly led to internal discipline and a $16,000 payment to the man Menig arrested — would invade the involved officers’ privacy, Cody City Attorney Scott Kolpitcke said in March.

“I think the officers’ privacy interest outweighs the public interest in the video,” Kolpitcke wrote in denying a Tribune reporter’s request for the video.

Judge sides with plaintiff

In the run-up to last week’s ruling in the Chapman case, attorneys representing the city of Powell made several arguments about why it shouldn’t have to give up the Police Department’s internal reports.

Lawyers Kylie Rangitsch and Thompson — hired by the Wyoming Local Government Liability Pool — said the documents were irrelevant since Chapman has already admitted to assaulting her.

Rangitsch and Thompson said the department’s internal reports on Chapman could disclose other, unrelated incidents and include statements from other people who haven’t agreed to have their statements released. They said that could invade other people’s privacy and discourage officers from being forthcoming with internal investigations in the future.

Hanify, representing the woman, agreed the investigations are not public records, but noted that the rules are different for lawsuits versus public records requests.

“My client is not quote, unquote ‘the public.’ She is the litigant against the Powell Police Department and the city of Powell,” Hanify said, adding later, “She needs to be provided these documents.”

As for the idea that the reports might reference other allegations against Chapman, “This is the exact information defendants must provide — did Chapman commit other sexual assaults or similar misconduct?” Hanify wrote in a brief. “Were defendants negligent in their retention of Chapman? On the night in question, did defendants act as a reasonable person, such as did they adequately supervise him, follow protocol, etc.”

Cranfill ordered the city to turn over the reports without any elaboration.

What’s next?

The former Powell woman is seeking up to $250,000 in damages, the maximum allowed in claims against Wyoming governments.

She alleges Chapman breached his duty to act as a reasonable peace officer and that the city was negligent in hiring, training and supervising him. The city and Police Department have denied those allegations; they say Chapman was acting outside the scope of his official duties when he committed the assault and have asked for the suit to be dismissed.

A hearing is set for October.

Chapman, meanwhile, is serving a 3 1/2- to seven-year sentence for the sexual assault in Powell and for having sex with a 13-year-old girl in Apppleton, Wisconsin, in 2003. That victim came forward in 2014 after hearing about Chapman’s charge in Wyoming.

According to the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, Chapman is scheduled to be released in October 2017. He’ll then start seven years of what’s effectively supervised probation.

Editor's note: This version corrects where Hanify practices law.