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Office of the Attorney General - State of Texas John Cornyn |
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January 30, 2001 Ms. J. Middlebrooks
OR2001-0342 Dear Ms. Middlebrooks: You ask whether certain information is subject to required public disclosure under chapter 552 of the Government Code. Your request was assigned ID# 143721. The City of Dallas Police Department (the "department") received a request for the following information: 1. A copy of the Standard Operating Procedures for 911 Center clerks (fire) and police dispatchers and the Training Manuals for 911 clerks and police dispatchers. 2. The number of patrol officers responding to calls in the central division on October 19, 2000 between the hours of 12 p.m. and 4 p.m. Except for the information you have marked and submitted to this office for review, you indicate that the information responsive to the request will be released to the requestor. You claim that the submitted information you have marked is excepted from disclosure under section 552.108 of the Government Code. We have considered the exception you claim and reviewed the submitted information. In pertinent part, section 552.108 provides that an "internal record or notation of a law enforcement agency or prosecutor that is maintained for internal use in matters relating to law enforcement or prosecution" is excepted from required public disclosure if "release of the internal record or notation would interfere with law enforcement or prosecution." Gov't Code § 552.108(b)(1). Generally, a governmental body claiming section 552.108 must reasonably explain, if the information does not supply the explanation on its face, how and why the release of the requested information would interfere with law enforcement. See Gov't Code § 552.301(e)(1)(A); see also Ex parte Pruitt, 551 S.W.2d 706 (Tex. 1977). As to the submitted information you seek to withhold, you state: The requested information consists of internal records of [the department] that are maintained for internal use in matters relating to the efficient and safe dispatch of 911 calls to officers in the field and their response to emergencies. The requested information includes failure of 911 back-up procedures; dispatch procedures for execution of warrants or high risk apprehensions; drug evidence transfer procedures; and internal telephone numbers used in emergency situations. The [department] believes that release of this type of information could interfere with the efficient communication between dispatchers and officers in the field, thus potentially jeopardizing officers' safety and their ability to respond to various types of emergencies. Upon consideration of your arguments and review of the information at issue, we conclude that the information, if released, would interfere with law enforcement. See, e.g., Open Records Decision No. 531 (1989). Accordingly, you may withhold the information at issue pursuant to section 552.108. This letter ruling is limited to the particular records at issue in this request and limited to the facts as presented to us; therefore, this ruling must not be relied upon as a previous determination regarding any other records or any other circumstances. This ruling triggers important deadlines regarding the rights and responsibilities of the governmental body and of the requestor. For example, governmental bodies are prohibited from asking the attorney general to reconsider this ruling. Gov't Code § 552.301(f). If the governmental body wants to challenge this ruling, the governmental body must appeal by filing suit in Travis County within 30 calendar days. Id. § 552.324(b). In order to get the full benefit of such an appeal, the governmental body must file suit within 10 calendar days. Id. § 552.353(b)(3), (c). If the governmental body does not appeal this ruling and the governmental body does not comply with it, then both the requestor and the attorney general have the right to file suit against the governmental body to enforce this ruling. Id. § 552.321(a). If this ruling requires the governmental body to release all or part of the requested information, the governmental body is responsible for taking the next step. Based on the statute, the attorney general expects that, within 10 calendar days of this ruling, the governmental body will do one of the following three things: 1) release the public records; 2) notify the requestor of the exact day, time, and place that copies of the records will be provided or that the records can be inspected; or 3) notify the requestor of the governmental body's intent to challenge this letter ruling in court. If the governmental body fails to do one of these three things within 10 calendar days of this ruling, then the requestor should report that failure to the attorney general's Open Government Hotline, toll free, at 877/673-6839. The requestor may also file a complaint with the district or county attorney. Id. § 552.3215(e). If this ruling requires or permits the governmental body to withhold all or some of the requested information, the requestor can appeal that decision by suing the governmental body. Id. § 552.321(a); Texas Department of Public Safety v. Gilbreath, 842 S.W.2d 408,411 (Tex. App.--Austin 1992, no writ). Please remember that under the Act the release of information triggers certain procedures for costs and charges to the requestor. If records are released in compliance with this ruling, be sure that all charges for the information are at or below the legal amounts. Questions or complaints about over-charging must be directed to Hadassah Schloss at the General Services Commission at 512/475-2497. If the governmental body, the requestor, or any other person has questions or comments about this ruling, they may contact our office. Although there is no statutory deadline for contacting us, the attorney general prefers to receive any comments within 10 calendar days of the date of this ruling. Sincerely, Michael Garbarino
MG/seg Ref: ID# 143721 Encl. Submitted documents cc: Ms. Connie Piloto
POST OFFICE BOX 12548, AUSTIN, TEXAS 78711-2548 TEL: (512) 463-2100 WEB: WWW.OAG.STATE.TX.US |