February 24, 2010

Mr. C. Patrick Phillips

Assistant City Attorney

City of Fort Worth

1000 Throckmorton Street

Fort Worth, Texas 76102

OR2010-02745

Dear Mr. Phillips:

You ask whether certain information is subject to required public disclosure under the Public Information Act (the "Act"), chapter 552 of the Government Code. Your request was assigned ID# 375567 (Fort Worth PIR No. 1827-10).

The Fort Worth Police Department (the "department") received a request for basic information, the arrest warrant, arrest warrant affidavit and any arrest report that was created separately from the offense report regarding service number 10-2647. You state the department will release basic information. See Gov't Code § 552.108(c) (basic information may not be withheld under section 552.108); see also Houston Chronicle Publ'g Co. v. City of Houston, 531 S.W.2d 177 (Tex. Civ. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 1975), writ ref'd n.r.e. per curiam, 536 S.W.2d 559 (Tex. 1976); Open Records Decision No. 127 (1976) (summarizing types of information considered to be basic information). You claim the remaining requested information is excepted from disclosure under section 552.108 of the Government Code. We have considered the exception you claim and reviewed the submitted information.

Initially, we note most of the submitted information is not responsive to the request for information, which only seeks basic information, the arrest warrant, arrest warrant affidavit and any arrest report that was created separately from the offense report regarding service number 10-2647. This decision does not address the public availability of nonresponsive information, and the department need not release that information to the requestor. To the extent that the submitted information is responsive to the request, we will consider your exception to disclosure.

Section 552.108(a)(1) of the Government Code excepts from disclosure "[i]nformation held by a law enforcement agency or prosecutor that deals with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime [if] release of the information would interfere with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime." Gov't Code § 552.108(a)(1). A governmental body claiming section 552.108 must reasonably explain how and why the release of the requested information would interfere with law enforcement. See id. §§ 552.108(a)(1), .301(e)(1)(A); see also Ex parte Pruitt, 551 S.W.2d 706 (Tex. 1977). You state, and provide an affidavit from a department officer stating, that the submitted information relates to a pending criminal investigation and that release of this information would interfere with the investigation. Based on this representation, we conclude that release of the submitted responsive information would interfere with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime. See Houston Chronicle, 531 S.W.2d 177 (court delineates law enforcement interests that are present in active cases). Thus, the city may withhold the submitted responsive information under section 552.108(a)(1) of the Government Code.

This letter ruling is limited to the particular information 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 information or any other circumstances.

This ruling triggers important deadlines regarding the rights and responsibilities of the governmental body and of the requestor. For more information concerning those rights and responsibilities, please visit our website at http://www.oag.state.tx.us/open/index_orl.php, or call the Office of the Attorney General's Open Government Hotline, toll free, at (877) 673-6839. Questions concerning the allowable charges for providing public information under the Act must be directed to the Cost Rules Administrator of the Office of the Attorney General, toll free, at (888) 672-6787.

Sincerely,

Amy L.S. Shipp

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

ALS/rl

Ref: ID# 375567

Enc. Submitted documents

cc: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

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