A journalist has sued the state in Merrimack Superior Court after the Department of Administrative Services provided a heavily redacted copy of a 2021 Division of Personnel investigation into sexual-harassment allegations involving a New Hampshire State Police sergeant.
Damien Fisher requested the investigative report by email on March 30, 2026, under RSA Chapter 91-A, the state’s public-records law. The department produced a 27-page document 87 days later, according to the lawsuit. The filing says the material containing the substance of the investigation was redacted.
The department cited a balancing of privacy interests and the public interest, along with guidance from the New Hampshire attorney general’s office. The lawsuit says the department did not identify a specific statutory exemption for withholding the information. It also says the department did not dispute receiving the underlying complaint.
The records dispute
Fisher is represented by attorney Tony Soltani. The case is at the filing stage, and the court has not issued a ruling on whether the state must release additional records. The New Hampshire Office of the Attorney General is expected to respond in court after receiving the complaint.
“It’s a little embarrassing, because we’ve tried in New Hampshire to improve public access over the years, and the Supreme Court has said it over and over again; that you’re supposed to — as government officials — help people gain access to documents. They have said it again and again, that there are no blanket exemptions or blanket denials, that’s just illegal, you can’t do that. You’ve got to be more specific about why you’re denying access or denying disclosure based on what exemption of the law,”
Soltani said.
He said he attempted to work with state officials after the records request and was told they would respond. Soltani described the subsequent lack of communication as unprofessional.
Michael Garrity, a spokesman for the New Hampshire Office of the Attorney General, said the office had not received the complaint. The State Police directed questions about the lawsuit to Garrity.
- March 30, 2026: Fisher submitted the public-records request.
- 87 days later: The department provided a 27-page document with the substantive material redacted.
- Current stage: The records-access lawsuit is pending in Merrimack Superior Court.
The lawsuit concerns access to a government personnel investigation. The sexual-harassment allegations themselves have not been adjudicated in the court proceeding described in the filing.
