ST. LOUIS • The ACLU of Eastern Missouri says the city's corrections division has repeatedly rebuffed requests for public records related to inmate grievances, forcing the civil rights group to turn to a judge.

In a lawsuit filed Wednesday in St. Louis Circuit Court, the ACLU asks for an injunction to force the city to turn over records first requested four months ago under the Missouri Sunshine Law.

The ACLU has long been concerned about reports of abuse and neglect of inmates at the city's two jails, in 2009 releasing a report that claimed assaults, sexual harassment, medical neglect and cover-ups.

After the report, the city and ACLU talked about bringing in independent oversight. Anthony Rothert, legal director for the ACLU, said one idea was to make sure inmate grievances were made public and answered within a certain time frame.

Midway through last year, those talks fell apart. The ACLU says the city walked away. Corrections officials said the ACLU asked for a level of oversight far outside national guidelines.

The public records request on Sept. 27, to the division's custodian of records, was an attempt to renew the conversation, Rothert said.

"We're trying to figure out whether there's any meaningful grievance process in place," he said. "The fact that they are unable to even follow the simple protocol of the Sunshine Law has us really concerned about what's going on down there."

A second letter was sent Oct. 31. On Nov. 4, Public Safety Director Charles Bryson emailed the ACLU's program director, John Chasnoff, saying the original recipient of the letter no longer worked there but the information was on its way. On Nov. 28, Rothert warned if the city delayed past Dec. 7, the ACLU would head to court. Rothert said the ACLU never heard back.

In response to the lawsuit, City Counselor Patti Hageman said in a statement: "The City Counselor's office is not in infrequent contact with Mr. Chasnoff. We would have hoped that he would have picked up the phone or contacted the law department instead of filing a lawsuit over a simple misunderstanding."

The lawsuit asks a judge to determine whether the city violated the Sunshine Law in refusing the request, and if so, to impose any civil penalties according to the law.

The city's two jails came under fire last year after a series of jailbreaks revealed lax procedures and safety measures at the facilities. Corrections Superintendent Eugene Stubblefield was suspended over the flap and aldermen started their own review with subpoena power.