Question
I had an allergic reaction between some medication I am on and alcohol while traveling on Amtrak. The conductor called 911 and instead of a paramedic showing up a police officer arrested me and put me jail.
I did not cause any disturbance on the train. I did eventually spend four days in the hospital over this. I would like to get a 911 transcript of this call to find out why a paramedic unit was not requested by Amtrak.
Answer
Since you are seeking records from a local agency, the California Public Records Act (“PRA”) would govern your request.
Whether or not the 9-1-1 transcript (or tape) should be released will depend on whether it is considered “investigatory.”
The investigatory records exemption of the PRA, Gov’t Code §6254(f)(2), allows police and other investigatory agencies to withhold investigatory files from the public, even after the investigation is over. See, e.g., Rivero v. Superior Court, 54 Cal. App. 4th 1048, 1051-52 (1997); Fagan v. Superior Court, 111 Cal. App. 4th 607, 615 (2003).
The California Supreme Court has found that records regarding a call reporting a possible crime were investigatory records exempt from disclosure under Government Code § 6254(f). Haynie v. Superior Court, 26 Cal. 4th 1061, 1064 (2001).
Given the circumstances you describe, the police department may claim that the transcript (or tape) falls into the investigatory exemption under the PRA.
Unfortunately, this exemption gives the police department a valid reason not to disclose the record. And, once a record becomes part of a police investigatory file, it remains exempt under Gov’t Code § 6254(f) forever, and there are no exceptions to this exemption that would compel the police to provide you with the records you seek. Williams v. Superior Court, 5 Cal. 4th 337, 361-62 (1993).
However, exemptions to the PRA are generally discretionary. Thus, the police agency could choose to disclose the records to you despite the fact the PRA does not require it to do so.
The law does require that certain information contained in these records must be disclosed. Among the information that must be disclosed is “the time, substance, and location of all complaints or requests for assistance received by the agency and the time and nature of the response thereto.” Gov’t Code § 6254(f)(2).
The first step you might consider taking is requesting the transcript or tape from the Police Department. You can find a sample PRA request letter on the FAC’s website, available at http://ift.tt/1jmHASg.
Bryan Cave LLP is general counsel for the First Amendment Coalition and responds to FAC hotline inquiries. In responding to these inquiries, we can give general information regarding open government and speech issues but cannot provide specific legal advice or representation.
Asked & Answered posts should not be relied on as legal advice, and FAC makes no guarantees about their completeness or accuracy. All posts carry a date of publication that readers should take note of in assessing their usefulness, given that laws and interpretations of them may change over time. Posts predating Jan. 1, 2023, that discuss the California Public Records Act may contain statute numbers no longer in use. Please see this page for a table showing how the California Public Records Act has been renumbered.