911 transcripts
Q: How can I obtain a copy of 911 transcripts?
A: As a general rule, any paper and electronic documents collected, owned, or maintained by a state or local agency is a public record for the purposes of the California Public Records Act, Government Code section 6250 et seq., and is available for public inspection and copying unless one of the Act’s exemptions applies. If you have not already made a request for the 911 transcript (or, if a transcript has not been prepared, the tape itself) you should do so. Your request should be directed to the entity that maintains the 911 tapes in your jurisdiction – sometimes the police, sometimes the fire department. Your request can either be made orally or in writing. If it is in writing and the agency decides that it is going to decline your request, they are required to respond in writing (within 10 days) and specify the exemptions to disclosure on which they are relying. A sample written request can be found at the following link:
http://www.cfac.org/templates/cpraletter.html
It is possible the agency that maintains the transcript or tape may try to claim that it is protected from disclosure by Government Code section 6254(f), which contains an exemption for records of complaints to, or investigations conducted by, a state or local police agency. However, the application of this exemption to your situation is very fact specific and will depend, among other things, on (1) the nature of the 911 call (2) whether the agency maintaining the 911 tape is a police or fire agency (the fire department is not necessarily a “law enforcement agency” for the purposes of section 6254(f)). In addition, if you find that your request for the tape/transcript is met with resistance, you might remind the agency that the Public Records Act affirmatively requires police agencies to provide the public with “the substance” of “all requests for assistance,” including all of the “factual circumstances surrounding the incident.” Government Code section 6254(f)(2). Often, the best way for the agency at issue to comply with this statutory obligation is to release the 911 tape, and you might want to point this out in your written request for the records, if you make such a request.