Sheriff blocking public records request for jail fight video

MCCOMB — A Mississippi sheriff is blocking publicrecords requests for a jail security video, four months after a fight that injured five inmates and sent two to a hospital.

The Enterprise-Journal reports (http://bit.ly/2t24dHh ) the Pike County Sheriff's Department says it is still investigating the Feb. 14 fight.

The newspaper has made several requests to see the video as a public record. Those have been denied. The newspaper has filed a complaint with the Mississippi Ethics Commission, which enforces the Public Records Act.

Wayne Dowdy, the sheriff's department attorney, says disclosure of the video would harm the investigation. Dowdy says as long as the probe continues, the records are exempt from public disclosure.

Sheriff's department chief deputy Johnny Scott tells the newspaper he does not know how long the investigation will take.