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Middlesex Township is asking Common Pleas Court to reverse a state Office of Open Records ruling granting access to a police officer’s summary of a March 2024 traffic stop that resulted in the threat of a lawsuit against the township.

Township solicitor Michael Hnath filed the petition last week seeking reversal of the April 4, 2025, final determination from the open records office.

On Dec. 9, 2024, the township received a letter from Al-Jernon Smith, of McKeesport, demanding $100,000 and threatening to sue over a March 3 traffic stop involving officers Christian Renaud and Randy Davison, according to the petition.

There is no record of township police filing a citation or criminal charges against Smith.

Renaud’s employment with the township ended in June that year. He, the township and the police union signed an agreement in September 2024 over a dispute relating to the termination of his employment, according to the petition.

At the time of the agreement, the township’s supervisors and manager did not know about the traffic stop, which was not a factor in Renaud’s termination or the settlement of his grievance, according to the petition.

Davison still works for the township, and Renaud is an officer with the Saxonburg Police Department. After the township received Smith’s letter, Hnath asked both officers to write summaries responding to Smith’s allegation, according to the petition. Both officers submitted summaries in December 2024.

In January this year, Smith submitted a Right-to-Know Law request to the township for an incident report or documentation relating to the traffic stop. The township’s open records officer provided documents responding to some of Smith’s requests but denied others. The open records officer also disclosed to Smith that the township had the summaries from Renaud and Davison, but the summaries were protected from disclosure due to attorney-client privilege, according to the petition.

On Jan. 30, Smith filed an appeal with the state and later added that he also was appealing the township denial of the officers’ summaries. In its final determination, the open records office denied most of the appeal, but ruled the township must turn over the summary prepared by Renaud.

The open records office found that no attorney-client privilege existed between Hnath and Renaud because Renaud was terminated in June 2024, he was not a township employee when he wrote his statement and the township made no argument that attorney-client privilege extends to a former employee, according to the petition.

The township argues that attorney-client privilege is a state law and it is up to a court to determine if that privilege protects a communication for disclosure.

In addition, the township argues that the open records office’s final determination is wrong because it ignores the fact that Renaud worked for the township on March 3, 2024, and there is evidence of an attorney-client relationship between Hnath and the township, and Renaud and township have a common interest.

Renaud would be entitled to have the township defend him if he is named in a suit and the township could be held liable if he acted inappropriately or contrary to law, which the township denies, according to the petition.