Accessing Police Evidence
Q: I was attacked by police. They grabbed me forcibly and bruised my arms and wrist and sprained 3 discs in my back for which I am under a doctor’s care. I was not their suspect. Minutes before this assault I called 9-1-1 asking to speak to the Watch Commander and was refused this right. The DA is saying the call doesn’t exist, even though I showed proof from my phone bill. How can they justify their behavior?
They are accusing me of assault and battery on a police officer and obstruction of justice. They are saying they have no audio or video of this event. Are they withholding evidence?
A: With respect to accessing any video, audio or documentary evidence concerning the arrest incident, unfortunately, there is only limited information that can be accessed through the California Public Records Act (PRA). Under the PRA, Government Code section 6250 et seq., records maintained by public agencies are presumptively available for public inspection and copying unless one of the Act’s exemptions applies. In this case, that exemption that likely applies is found in section 6254(f), which exempts “records of investigations” as well as “investigatory files” held by law enforcement agencies. Unfortunately, the California Supreme Court has held that this exemption operates to bar disclosure of the investigatory file even after the investigation ends and there is no further prospect of enforcement. See Williams v. Superior Court, 5 Cal. 4th 227 (1993).
However, even though a law enforcement agency can withhold various investigation-related records, Government Code section 6254(f) provides that “state and local law enforcement agencies shall disclose the names and addresses of persons involved in, or witnesses other than confidential informants to, the incident, the description of any property involved, the date, time, and location of the incident, all diagrams, statements of the parties involved in the incident, the statements of all witnesses, other than confidential informants, to the victims of an incident” and similar information. Law enforcement agencies “shall [also] make public . . . the full name and occupation of every individual arrested by the agency, the individual’s physical description including date of birth, color of eyes and hair, sex, height and weight, the time and date of arrest, the time and date of booking, the location of the arrest, the factual circumstances surrounding the arrest, the amount of bail set, the time and manner of release or the location where the individual is currently being held, and all charges the individual is being held upon, including any outstanding warrants from other jurisdictions and parole or probation holds.” In other words, police are not only allowed to but are actually obligated to disclose information related to investigations (subject to certain exemptions) even though they need not disclose the actual investigation records.
If you have not already done so, I suggest you submit a request under the Public Records Act. A sample PRA request is available on CFAC’s website at the following link:
http://www.cfac.org/templates/cpraletter.html.
To the extent you are seeking representation with respect to the charges filed against you, as stated above, we cannot provide legal advice or representation. It sounds like a public defender may have already been assigned to represent you in this case. However, if you choose to look for a private attorney, you might consider looking at the website for the State Bar of California where you can find information about attorney referrals. A link to that site is provided below.
http://www.calbar.ca.gov/state/calbar/calbar_generic.jsp?cid=10182