On Sept. 16, 1994, Corporal Bobbie J. Harper, a Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP) Trooper, was shot in the chest at his home, allegedly by Timothy Coombs, following Cpl. Harper’s arrest of Coombs’ associate, Robert Joos, six weeks earlier. Cpl. Harper passed away on Apr. 3, 1996. Coombs was charged with the crime but was never apprehended and is believed to be deceased.
Beginning Apr. 12, 2012, Cpl. Harper’s family began requesting all MSHP records pertaining to the arrest of Robert Joos, the shooting of Cpl. Harper and the resulting investigation. Though the family received a few records related to Joos’ arrest, all other requests were denied or ignored. After three years of being stonewalled by the MSHP, the Harper family contacted McDonald County Prosecutor Bill Dobbs for copies of all records related to Coombs’ 1994 arrest warrant. The request was denied.
On April 14, 2016, Harper’s family members, with the help of the ACLU of Missouri, filed a Sunshine Law suit against the Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP) and the McDonald County Prosecuting Attorney for failing to release public records related to the 1994 shooting of Cpl. Harper.
Corporal Bobbie Harper served 32 years as a state trooper. In April 1984, he was named the Department of Public Safety's Employee of the Month for confronting an armed man who threatened to take his rifle into the McDonald County Courthouse to "help" his friend. Missouri Governor Christopher “Kit” Bond praised Cpl. Harper’s bravery at the awards ceremony as a shining representation of “the finest traditions of the Missouri Highway Patrol.” A portion of U.S. Highway 71 in McDonald County was renamed “Corporal Bobbie J. Harper Memorial Highway” in his honor.
“The Sunshine Law is clear and cannot be disregarded as government officials see fit. All Missourians are guaranteed access to public records upon request,” explains Tony Rothert, legal director of the ACLU of Missouri. “The fact that the family of a fallen hero cannot obtain public records shines a light on just how far some government agencies will go to violate the law.”
“The Sunshine Law ensures that government officials cannot refuse to release public documents simply because they may cast them in a bad light,” said Jeffrey Mittman, executive director of the ACLU of Missouri. “The ACLU stands ready to remind all who have forgotten that fact.”