March 19, 2010

Mr. C. Patrick Phillips

Assistant City Attorney

City of Fort Worth

1000 Throckmorton Street, 3^rd Floor

Fort Worth, Texas 76102

OR2010-03897

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# 374364 (Fort Worth PIR No. 1608-10).

The City of Fort Worth (the "city") received a request for a specified police report and a specified internal affairs report. You state that you have redacted Texas driver's license numbers and motor vehicle information from the submitted information under section 552.130 of the Government Code pursuant to previous determinations issued to the city in Open Records Letter Nos. 2006-14726 (2006) and 2007-00198 (2007). See Gov't Code § 552.301(a); Open Records Decision No. 673 at 7-8 (2001). You also state that you have redacted social security numbers pursuant to section 552.147 of the Government Code. ⁽¹⁾ You claim that the submitted information is excepted from disclosure under sections 552.101 and 552.108 of the Government Code. We have considered the exceptions you claim and reviewed the submitted information.

Section 552.101 of the Government Code excepts from disclosure "information considered to be confidential by law, either constitutional, statutory, or by judicial decision." Gov't Code § 552.101. This section encompasses section 143.089 of the Local Government Code. The city is a civil service city under chapter 143 of the Local Government Code. Section 143.089 contemplates two different types of personnel files: a police officer's civil service file that the civil service director is required to maintain, and an internal file that the police department may maintain for its own use. Local Gov't Code § 143.089(a), (g). The officer's civil service file must contain certain specified items, including commendations, periodic evaluations by the police officer's supervisor, and documents relating to any misconduct in which the department took disciplinary action against the officer under chapter 143 of the Local Government Code. ⁽²⁾ Id. § 143.089(a)(1)-(2). In City of San Antonio v. Texas Attorney General, 851 S.W.2d 946 (Tex. App.--Austin 1993, writ denied), the court addressed a request for information contained in a police officer's personnel file maintained by the police department for its use and the applicability of section 143.089(g) to that file. The records included in the departmental personnel file related to complaints against the police officer for which no disciplinary action was taken. The court determined that section 143.089(g) made the records confidential. See id. at 949; Attorney General Opinion JC-0257 at 6-7 (2000) (addressing functions of section 143.089(a) and (g) files). This confidentiality extends to any records maintained in the internal file that reasonably relate to the police officer's employment relationship. See City of San Antonio v. San Antonio Express-News, 47 S.W.3d 556 (Tex. App.--San Antonio 2000, pet. denied).

You assert the documents in Exhibit C were taken from the city police department's internal files which are maintained by the city police department for its own use. You state any documents in Exhibit C involving allegations of misconduct were determined to be unfounded or did not result in discipline under chapter 143. Based on these representations and our review of the information at issue, we agree the documents in Exhibit C are confidential pursuant to section 143.089(g). Accordingly, the city must withhold Exhibit C under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with section 143.089(g) of the Local Government Code.

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 that claims an exception to disclosure under section 552.108 must reasonably explain how and why this exception is applicable to the information at issue. See id. §§ 552.108(a)(1), .301(e)(1)(A); Ex parte Pruitt, 551 S.W.2d 706 (Tex. 1977). You assert the remaining information, which you have labeled Exhibit D, pertains to the arrest of one or more individuals that resulted in criminal prosecution currently pending with the Tarrant County District Attorney's Office (the "district attorney"). You have submitted an affidavit from the district attorney stating the release of this information would interfere with the prosecution of the offense. Based on these representations, we conclude that section 552.108(a)(1) is applicable to Exhibit D. See 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) (court delineates law enforcement interests that are present in active cases).

Section 552.108 does not except from disclosure basic information about an arrested person, an arrest, or a crime. Gov't Code § 552.108(c). Basic information refers to the information held to be public in Houston Chronicle, and includes the offense charged and a detailed description of the offense. See 531 S.W.2d at 186-87; Open Records Decision No. 127 (summarizing types of information considered to be basic information). Thus, with the exception of basic information, Exhibit D may be withheld under section 552.108(a)(1) of the Government Code.

In summary, the city must withhold Exhibit C under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with section 143.089(g) of the Local Government Code. With the exception of basic information, the city may withhold Exhibit D 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,

Kate Hartfield

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

KH/dls

Ref: ID# 374364

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

1. Section 552.147(b) of the Government Code authorizes a governmental body to redact a living person's social security number from public release without the necessity of requesting a decision from this office under the Act.

2. Chapter 143 prescribes the following types of disciplinary actions: removal, suspension, demotion, and uncompensated duty. See id. §§ 143.051-.055.

POST OFFICE BOX 12548, AUSTIN, TEXAS 78711-2548 TEL: (512) 463-2100 WEB: WWW.OAG.STATE.TX.US
An Equal Employment Opportunity Employer