Eagle EMS was forced to disband until 2004 because of BCPD accusations, she said.

The suspension led The Heights to request an incident report to determine who had canceled the ambulance. Their request was denied.

“We thought [denying our request] was very suspicious,” Reardon said. “Over the course of the summer, several editors and I have continued conversations regarding the possibility of a legal route to obtain the requested information.”

BC Director of Public Relations Jack Dunne said the BCPD does not release entire reports, and added they believe this is in compliance with the law.

“Yes, we agree with the Harvard administration. It’s the same policy that BC adheres to here,” he said. “The federal law is clear on this matter.”

In 1981, The Heights filed a suit against the University requesting access to campus police logs, and the following year they were awarded free access to the police logs.

Reardon also said the Boston University newspaper, The Daily Free Press, had gone to court at the same time for access to police logs.

“Members of The Daily Free Press were arrested because they refused to leave police station without logs they’d requested,” she said.

The Boston University Police Department could not be reached for comment.

In Virginia, a student case against a University also resulted in access to public records—though the lawsuit itself failed.

The student newspaper at the University of Richmond also sued their college for access to police records, said Mark Goodman, executive director of the Student Press Law Center.

Although they lost the suit, Virginia state law was revised the following year to require private University police to make the records available.

Goodman said The Crimson’s case might be strong enough to win.

“These cases depend on the language of the law,” he said. “The fact is this case, based on my reading of the state law, is a very compelling case.”

This is not the first time HUPD has been encouraged by The Crimson to disseminate more information.