In a memo and email to council members, City Attorney Michael Haas alleged Glass leaked private information related to the death of Richard Johnson, who died in Madison police custody in late 2024. Haas said the Police Department shared confidential records with Glass under an information-sharing agreement, and that the documents were marked as restricted to the Office of the Independent Police Monitor.

Haas alleged that information from the records later appeared on Alder Carmella Glenn’s Facebook page. He also cited a Reddit post by a local reporter who said Glass had provided information that appeared in the restricted material. The allegations are claims by the city attorney; the information available did not establish that Glass disclosed the records.

The accusations came hours before the monitor’s office announced that it had hired an attorney to represent Robinson’s grandmother. Robinson was shot and killed by Madison police Officer Matt Kenny in 2015. The city paid his family $3.35 million in 2017 to settle a lawsuit.

Glass said the representation is consistent with the city ordinance establishing the monitor’s office. “Complainants and families should not have to carry these cases by themselves,” she said in a public post, arguing that police officers have union and association resources that complainants may lack. She described Madison’s ordinance as unique in Wisconsin and said her office was using powers the measure was written to provide.

The council’s pending decision will determine Glass’s future in a role intended to provide independent oversight of Madison police. The allegations place that decision in the midst of broader questions about how the monitor’s office handles sensitive records and supports people bringing complaints against police.