Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Letter to Dearborn County Officials; Re: Prosecutor Negangard illegally obtaining health records

Here is a copy of the letter I sent to Dearborn County officials. The Dearborn County Special Crimes Unit illegally obtained information from my confidential health records.

Dearborn County Officials

As you have been made aware by Dearborn County Prosecutor Aaron Negangard, I am under investigation by the Dearborn County Sheriff’s Department and/or the Dearborn County Special Crimes Unit. The purpose of this letter is to give Dearborn County Officials a better perspective of the entire situation.

On October 8, 2009, Special Crimes Unit Detective Mike Kreinhop left me a voice message indicating that someone made a complaint about my writings and he wanted to speak with me. On November 2, 2009, after being advised by my attorney that I would not be participating in any investigation without being told who filed the complaint or what the complaint was about, Detective Kreinhop drove to Norwood, Ohio to speak to me. During the course of speaking with Detective Kreinhop, he stated that he interviewed Dr. Edward J. Connor during the course of his investigation. Dr. Connor is a Kentucky psychologist who was appointed by the Court to perform a custody evaluation during the course of my divorce. As Dr. Connor gave evidence and testimony to the court, during the course of my divorce, that evaluation records are protected under HIPAA, state, and federal laws, Detective Kreinhop would have needed my permission to speak with Dr. Connor or an order to release the information from a court of law. IC 16-39-3 sets forth the Indiana regulations regarding the “Release of Mental Health Records in Investigations and Legal Proceedings.” IC 16-39-3-3 states:

Petition for release of patient's records
Sec. 3. A person:
(1) seeking access to a patient's mental health record without the patient's written consent in an investigation or prosecution resulting from a report filed under IC 16-39-2-6(10); or
(2) who has filed or is a party to a legal proceeding and who seeks access to a patient's mental health record without the patient's written consent;
may file a petition in a circuit or superior court requesting a release of the patient's mental health record.

IC 16-39-3-4 states:

Notice of hearing
Sec. 4. Except as provided in section 8 of this chapter, notice of a hearing to be conducted under this chapter shall be served at least fifteen (15) days in advance on the following:
(1) The patient.
(2) The guardian, guardian ad litem or court appointed special advocate appointed for a minor, parent, or custodian of a patient who is incompetent.
(3) The provider that maintains the record or the attorney general if the provider is a state institution.

During the course of Dr. Connor’s evaluation, I underwent psychological testing, I participated in interviews, I discussed confidential medical information, talked about my children, etc… Any and all of my correspondence with Dr. Connor is protected by Health care provider/client confidentiality laws. I never received a notice of a hearing to release my records from Dr. Connor’s office nor did I receive a copy of a subpoena or an order allowing Dr. Connor to share any information about me with Dearborn County Law Enforcement. Despite the fact that I did not give my written consent nor was there a court order compelling the release of my confidential records from Dr. Connor’s office, Detective Kreinhop, under the supervision of Dearborn County Prosecutor Aaron Negangard, disregarded my rights to privacy and interviewed Dr. Edward J. Connor.

As Mr. Negangard was quick to attack me the last time that I publicized his misconduct, I want to be sure to clarify under what grounds that Dr. Connor would be allowed to release any information about me without a court order. IC 16-39-2-6 sets forth the regulations pertaining to the release of records without a patient’s consent:

Disclosure without patient's consent; interpretation of records; immunities
Sec. 6. (a) Without the consent of the patient, the patient's mental health record may only be disclosed as follows:
(7) To a law enforcement agency if any of the following conditions are met:
(A) A patient escapes from a facility to which the patient is committed under IC 12-26.
(B) The superintendent of the facility determines that failure to provide the information may result in bodily harm to the patient or another individual.
(C) A patient commits or threatens to commit a crime on facility premises or against facility personnel.
(D) A patient is in the custody of a law enforcement officer or agency for any reason and:
(i) the information to be released is limited to medications currently prescribed for the patient or to the patient's history of adverse medication reactions; and
(ii) the provider determines that the release of the medication information will assist in protecting the health, safety, or welfare of the patient.

As I have never been committed to a mental health facility nor was I in custody of Dearborn County law enforcement officials, Dr. Edward J. Connor aided Detective Kreinhop in illegally obtaining my confidential health records. A question that needs to be asked is “Why did Dearborn County Prosecutor Aaron Negangard send Detective Kreinhop to illegally obtain confidential health records?

It should be questioned who filed a complaint about my writings that necessitated the illegal gathering of my confidential health records. The fact that Aaron Negangard may have felt that I presented a “threat to anyone” does not give him the power or authority to obtain my health records without my permission or my rights to due process. As neither I nor the mother of my children lived in Dearborn County when the alleged investigation began, it could not have been my ex-wife who filed the complaint. The only other people who could have filed a complaint against me that would possibly compel Aaron Negangard to illegally obtain my health record from Dr. Connor’s office would be Dr. Edward J. Connor and Judge James D. Humphrey.

This is where things get very ugly in Dearborn County. If Judge James D. Humphrey filed the complaint against me and failed to recuse himself from my case for over eight months, he very well could face severe disciplinary action from the Indiana Supreme Court and could be disbarred. As Detective Kreinhop stated that he felt Dr. Connor retaliated against me for questioning Dr. Connor’s conduct, Prosecutor Negangard is aware that, if Dr. Connor made the complaint against me, the complaint may be another attempt at retaliation.

I truly believe that this investigation is nothing more than a shakedown because I publicized the unethical and illegal actions of Judge James D. Humphrey and Dr. Edward J. Connor. Aaron Negangard authorized Detective Kreinhop to illegally gather my confidential health information and recently accused me of trying to undermine the Dearborn County Criminal Justice System. My civil rights have been tromped on in Dearborn County. I lost the ability to see my children because Judge Humphrey felt that protecting Dr. Connor was more important than my children having a father. After illegally obtaining my confidential health information and sending Detective Kreinhop to Norwood, Ohio to speak to me, Aaron Negangard resorted to publicly attacking me because he could not arrest me because I do not break the law. All of the officials copied to Aaron Negangard’s July 12, 2010 email may be subpoenaed in future actions regarding the situation and may be held personally liable for damages resulting from the actions of Prosecutor Negangard and Dearborn County.

I am a father who had his two beautiful daughters stripped from him and I have had my civil rights crushed in Dearborn County. I may never know why the Dearborn County Court System is infatuated with appointing Dr. Edward J. Connor as a professional witness so they can punish people who question Dr. Connor’s unethical and illegal activity. Aaron Negangard will not be able to give a rational excuse as to why the Special Crimes Unit illegally obtained my confidential health records and he won’t be able to logically explain his reasoning behind his accusations of me trying “to get [Mr. Negangard] not to do [his] job of prosecuting those who violate the law.” It appears that the people in the system who are responsible for holding people accountable for their actions are the ones who are grasping at excuses to justify their own bad behavior. I do not know when Aaron Negangard will stop playing the role of a defenseless victim who is being bullied by me and take responsibility for his misconduct. I do know that I haven’t seen my daughters for nearly a year because of the corruption in the Dearborn government and I can guarantee you that I will not stop my very public quest until my questions are answered.

If you have any question, please do not hesitate to contact me. For more information, go to www.danhelpskids.com. Go to www.danbrewington.com to see a copy of this letter.

Very truly yours,

Dan Brewington

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