Emilie Kiser's lawyer agrees some public records about her son's death could be released

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A lawyer for Emilie Kiser agreed that some government records about the death of the social media influencer's son could be released, but said what's made available should balance her privacy against the public's right to know.

Kiser filed a lawsuit in Maricopa County in an attempt to block records about the drowning death of her son, Trigg Kiser, 3, from public view. Their release would weaponize Arizona public records law and cause emotional harm to Kiser and her family, the lawsuit filed on May 27 said.

Kiser's lawyer argued during a June 3 court hearing that the release of audio or visual materials, such as police body camera footage, 911 calls, or any security camera footage that may have captured the drowning, was not necessary for the public to understand what happened.

But he said redacted police and medical examiner reports were likely "appropriate" for public release.

"This is particularly true if, as we expect from everything we've learned so far, that the conclusion of both of those government entities would be that this was nothing other than a tragic accident," Kevin O'Malley said.

It may be some time before those reports are complete. A lawyer for the Maricopa County Office of the Medical Examiner told Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Christopher Whitten that reports are normally completed within 90 days. A lawyer for Chandler said she did not know when the police report would be finished.

Kiser's lawyers, in the lawsuit, had asked a judge to prohibit the disclosure of the records permanently. Their alternative suggestion was that the court review the records before they were released to determine "what, if any, information may be lawfully disclosed."

The Arizona Republic has filed requests for public records about the investigation into Trigg's death. Attorney Matthew Kelley appeared at the June 3 hearing representing The Republic, and Whitten admitted the news outlet as a party to the case. No other news outlet, journalist, or others who requested records about Trigg's death investigation have been admitted as a party so far.

Whitten ordered Chandler and Maricopa County not to disclose records to requesters until Kiser and The Republic's lawyers reviewed and discussed their contents.

Whitten ordered the records to be shared, once they are ready, with lawyers for Kiser and The Republic for inspection. Those lawyers were expected to develop a schedule to iron out differences over what should be released and, potentially, to make arguments before Whitten. If the parties could not agree on what should be released, Whitten said he may hold an evidentiary hearing. Whitten ultimately will decide what records, or portions thereof, are released.

Whitten ordered a declaration from Kiser that was filed with her lawsuit in a redacted form to be sealed. If evidence needed to be presented in the case, he said he would not consider the declaration.

Lawsuit followed 'media frenzy' of Trigg Kiser's death

Trigg Kiser died May 18 in the hospital, about a week after police responded to the Kiser home in Chandler for a drowning call. Chandler police said the incident occurred in the family's backyard pool and was under investigation.

Kiser filed the lawsuit after the boy's death became a "media frenzy" that made it difficult for her and her family to grieve in private, the suit said. Kiser is a TikTok celebrity with about 4 million followers and has a presence on other social media platforms, including Instagram and YouTube. She posts about parenting and her home life and promotes products.

More than 100 public records requests were filed with the Chandler Police Department and the Maricopa County Office of the Medical Examiner, the lawsuit said. Kiser's lawyers argued that the records about Trigg's death requested under Arizona's public records law could reveal "graphic, distressing and intimate details."

Trigg's death was a private family matter, did not involve the public and the government was only "tangentially" involved when first responders arrived at the Kiser home on May 12, the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit suggested that one of the investigative records Kiser wanted to keep from public view was security camera footage of the drowning. "Upon information and belief, the records, particularly the security camera footage of the accidental drowning, are exceptionally raw and graphic," a footnote in the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit argued that many of the requests for public records related to Trigg's death were likely for commercial purposes. Requesting records for news gathering is not considered a commercial purpose under Arizona law.

O'Malley told The Republic after the hearing that the public does have a right to know what happened. But he said it was "unquestionably reasonable" for Kiser not to want footage related to her son's drowning to be released and uploaded to the internet.

He said he hoped the court's decision on what could be released to the public recognizes the privacy interests that "all of us" have, regardless of social media presence.

"When you talk about this situation, a grieving parent, a loss of a child, there should be a line there," O'Malley said.

Kiser drops some public entities from lawsuit

In a June 2 court filing, Kiser's lawyers said they wanted to dismiss five of the nine public entities named in the lawsuit.

The entities Kiser's lawyers asked to have dropped from the lawsuit were the Chandler Police Department, Maricopa County's vital records office, the Arizona Department of Health Services, the Arizona Department of Health Services Bureau of Vital Records and the State Registrar of Vital Statistics.

The remaining named defendants would be the city of Chandler, Maricopa County, the Maricopa County Attorney's Office and the county Medical Examiner's Office.

The lawsuit also lists generically as defendants all people and businesses who made a public records request related to Trigg's death.

The Medical Examiner's Office has already removed summary information about Trigg's death from its website. A spokesperson for the office said that was done after the office learned Kiser was pursuing a lawsuit.

"When Maricopa County learned the family was pursuing a court order to prevent the release of these records, the Office of the Medical Examiner worked with the family to place a seal on the record to allow this process to take place," said Maricopa County spokesperson Jason Berry.

The medical examiner's website normally lists basic information about a death investigation case, including the deceased's first, middle and last name, their age, the date of their death, the manner of death — such as accident or homicide — and the primary cause of death once that has been determined.

Republic reporter Perry Vandell contributed.