A&A: Police deny request for 911 tape

Q: My CPRA request to review the 911 recording/transcript of a 2003 death was denied by the LAPD. While the cause of death was determined to be a knife wound the coroner declined to rule on whether the incident was a suicide or homicide. Prior to my formal request, the police refused to discuss the [...]

A&A: How can I get the police dept. to release a shooting report?

Q: The local police department is refusing to release a report on a shooting. Many months have passed since the incident. They give no explanation for their actions. What would be the best way to proceed to get them to release the report? A: As you may know, under California’s Public Records Act, public records [...]

A&A: Sheriff’s office won’t release names of inmates held on immigration charges

Q: I’m working on a story about inmates in county jail released into ICE (Immigration Customs Enforcement)  custody. Seeking records of these individuals has brought up two questions. The first: are records of jail inmates (aka booking info) public? The county sheriff’s office says no. The second: are local jails prohibited from release names of [...]

A&A: Police claims officer ‘use of force’ reports personnel not public issue

Q: We are a police monitoring and accountability organization. For awhile we have been concerned about police use of force; where it is occurring and under what circumstances, and which officers are involved. We have twice asked for this information from the Police Department. Once, for several years worth of reports, which were denied to [...]

A&A: Are mug shots public documents under CPRA?

Q: I was denied booking photos of the city administrative officer to post in an article.  The department previously refused to release the photo on the grounds that another department arrested the individual, CHP. So after the case was adjudicated, and the defendant pled guilty, I submitted the request again. I was denied based on [...]

Can I see the city’s settlement agreement with police officers?

Q: The city has just reached a settlement agreement with several police officers who had filed claims–and then a lawsuit–alleging discrimination on the part of the police chief. There were also workers compensation claims tied to this lawsuit. The city just announced that as part of the agreement, the officers have withdrawn their civil suit. [...]

Federal appeals court keeps Chicago police disciplinary records under wrap

The public will not have access to disciplinary records relating to citizen complaints against police in Chicago as a federal appeals court ruled that since the records were never a part of a court proceeding, the public had no right to access them. The police misconduct case was settled out of court. A journalist and [...]

San Jose: Case of tragic shooting of mentally ill man shows need for prompt disclosure of police records

A San Jose Mercury News editorial argues that if the police want to build trust between themselves and the community, with reasonable exceptions they need to provide timely public access to records. Disclosure lagged in the case of the police shooting of a mentally ill man with the result that after six months, controversy continues. The editorial [...]