Personnel Privacy and Public Access to Incident Reports
Q: I was recently hit by a County’s public bus while on the crosswalk (it was a hit and run). Due to the fact that the County’s transportation agency has its own Sheriffs Department, the incident was not reported to the District Attorney and the driver of the bus is being protected by the County Transportation Agency as of today. How can I get a report of bus drivers for the Agency for the day, time period, and route area in which I was hit?
A: Under the California Public Records Act (CPRA), section 6254(f) of the California Government Code, the agency MUST give to the victims of an incident, or their representative, “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 statement of all witnesses, other than confidential informants.”
Under a California Supreme Court decision called Williams v. Superior Court, the agency does not have to give you the actual report, but must give you the information listed above, and many agencies opt to provide redacted copies of the reports rather than read the victims the information to which they are entitled.
As for how to get this information, you have two options;
First, under Government Code section 6254(a) of the CPRA, you have a right to go to a public office of the agency and ask to “inspect” the report (or, at least, to have someone there tell you the information to which you are entitled under section 6254(f)).
Second, you can submit a letter under 6256 for a copy of the report. However, since the agency doesn’t have to give you a copy, that might not work. Also, under sections 6256 the agency can take up to 10 days to respond (and, in certain circumstances, can take another 14 days under section 6256.1).
Finally, if you file a claim against the agency and ultimately a lawsuit, you would be entitled to seek a copy of the agency’s report of the incident in discovery.