A state Freedom of Information Commission hearing officer says Yale University police must make department records available to the public.
The hearing officer found that Yale police function as a public agency and that open records laws should apply.
Yale has long kept crime reports and other records held by its police department secret, claiming that its private police force is exempt from public oversight.
A New Haven public defender challenged the policy after two Yale officers arrested her client, a black teenager, for riding his bike on a city sidewalk.
Yale declined comment. The decision must still be approved by the FOI Commission at a second hearing.
