On Tuesday, July 23, the Los Angeles Times and the Sacramento Bee won a significant government transparency victory. In Federated University Police Officers Association v. Superior Court, a California Court of Appeal commanded disclosure of complete and unreacted versions of two reports detailing a now-infamous pepper spray incident at U.C. Davis. The reports review facts leading up to the incident, draw conclusions regarding responsibility for the incident, and make policy recommendations to avoid similar incidents in the future. They include the names of more than a dozen police officers.
The Los Angeles Times and the Sacramento Bee requested the reports under California Public Records Act. The Federated University Police Officers Association argued the names of specific officers were exempt under Penal Code Section 832.7(a). The newspapers sought unredacted versions of the reports. Before the Court of Appeal, the newspapers prevailed.
Section 832.7(a) exempts from disclosure, among other things, certain records of investigations into police officer misconduct stemming from a citizen’s complaint, information obtained from those records. It also protects peace officer or custodial officer personnel records. The Court construed Section 832.7(a) narrowly pursuant to a provision of the California Constitution, and held it does not justify concealing police officers’ names in this case.
The decision is available here.