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CG to withhold names of people it rescues

Capping a two-year review of a policy on disclosing the names of people saved in rescue cases, the Coast Guard announced Aug. 24 it now will release rescued peoples’ names only during an active operation — a guideline media experts say exceeds privacy interests and could hamper objective reporting of the service’s performance.

In a servicewide message, assistant commandant for operations Rear Adm. David Pekoske said the names of people who are rescued or are the targets of a search-and-rescue operation can be released when the case is “open and active” but will be sealed after it is closed.

Those seeking the information after the case closes must file a Freedom of Information Act for it, but the message doesn’t indicate whether the service will release the information under FOIA.

In general, however, the Coast Guard believes the names of individuals rescued are protected under a FOIA exemption that prohibits disclosures that “constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of privacy.”

Loren Cochran, an attorney for the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, said the Coast Guard’s new rule and the internal memo on which it is based is an “attempt to justify withholding information” from the public.

Cochran said the release of names is not covered by the Privacy Act and withholding them limits the public’s ability to determine whether the Coast Guard is performing its duties.

“Did the Coast Guard get there quickly? Was it able to rescue everyone in a safe manner? With no witnesses available, if you follow the Coast Guard’s model, you’ll just have to take their word for it,” Cochran said.

The policy clarification results from a debate within the service about the privacy of rescued individuals. In 2005, while reporter Amanda Garrett of The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer newspaper was working on a story about ice rescues, she requested the names of people saved that year, and in previous winters, to determine whether the Coast Guard was spending taxpayer money to rescue “repeat offenders.”

Her request was denied, even as she and her editors met with then-9th District Commander Rear Adm. Robert Papp to discuss the issue.

“It’s that old rumor year after year, that it’s the same people getting rescued on the ice. We wanted to see if it was true,” Garrett said.

Garrett wrote a story but wasn’t able to determine whether the same individuals placed themselves at risk because the Coast Guard wouldn’t provide the information.

Immediately following Garrett’s request, the Coast Guard’s legal arm issued an opinion saying all names should be withheld from press releases.

That opinion led to disparities in news releases across the service. For example, press releases generated by the Coast Guard’s First District in Boston don’t usually contain the names of people rescued, but those from 7th District in Miami often include names, ages and homes of record.

“It costs $4,400 an hour to run a helicopter during a search and rescue. If you are going out to rescue someone one or two or four times because they are not accurately tracking the weather forecast, perhaps they should be held accountable,” Cochran said. “The Coast Guard appears to disclose this information when it fits their own purpose.”

The Aug. 24 directive appears to be a compromise on a Feb. 24, 2006, policy issued by then-Judge Advocate General Rear Adm. John Crowley stating that the Coast Guard should only release a name if “disclosure is reasonably expected to aid a search and rescue case.” In that memo, Crowley cited a court case which he said upholds the Coast Guard’s argument for protecting people: “If privacy interests outweigh the public interest, even modestly, the requested information must be withheld.”

But that case, a 1990 Gannett Satellite Information case against the U.S. Department of Education, has not held up, Cochran said.

“Take a look at www.defaulteddocs.dhhs.gov,” Cochran said. “Even the U.S. Senate doesn’t think names are private. They passed a law allowing the names of doctors who have defaulted on student loans to be posted.

“Names in and of themselves are not private,” he added. “We have phone books.”

Coast Guard spokesman Cmdr. Jeff Carter said Sept. 4 that the service stands by its new practice.

“The office of public affairs, the office of general law and the office of search and rescue each provided input to our policy on the release of names during active search-and-rescue cases. This policy balances the obligation of the Coast Guard to communicate its activities to the American people and our obligation to safeguard the privacy of individuals we rescue,” Carter said.

Cochran said the policy is not in the public’s best interest.

“The frustrating part is that this information presumes to be public and this policy flips that presumption on its head,” Cochran said.