January 4, 2011

Mr. Gregory A. Alicie

Open Records Specialist

Baytown Police Department

3200 North Main Street

Baytown, Texas 77521

OR2011-00165

Dear Mr. Alicie:

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# 404906 (Case #2010-31279).

The Baytown Police Department (the "department") received a request for information pertaining to a specified incident. ⁽¹⁾ You state you will redact social security numbers and partial social security numbers pursuant to section 552.147(b) of the Government Code. ⁽²⁾ You claim some of the requested information is excepted from disclosure under sections 552.101, 552.108, 552.130, and 552.151 of the Government Code. We have considered the exceptions you claim and reviewed the submitted information.

First, you represent report number 2010-31279 was the subject of a previous request for information, in response to which this office issued Open Records Letter No. 2010-16523 (2010). In that ruling, we held the department must withhold the information you marked under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with common-law privacy and section 552.130 of the Government Code. In addition, we held that except for basic information, the department may withhold the information you marked under section 552.108(a)(1) of the Government Code, and, when releasing basic information, the department must withhold the information you marked under section 552.151 of the Government Code. We further held the remaining information at issue must be released. As we have no indication that the law, facts, and circumstances on which the prior ruling was based have changed, the department must continue to rely on Open Records Letter No. 2010-16523 as a previous determination and withhold or release report number 2010-31279 in accordance with that ruling. See Open Records Decision No. 673 (2001) (so long as law, facts, and circumstances on which prior ruling was based have not changed, first type of previous determination exists where requested information is precisely same information as was addressed in prior attorney general ruling, ruling is addressed to same governmental body, and ruling concludes that information is or is not excepted from disclosure). We will consider your argument under section 552.108 of the Government Code with respect to the remaining information.

Section 552.108(a)(1) 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). Generally, 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, .301(e)(1)(A); see also Ex parte Pruitt, 551 S.W.2d 706 (Tex. 1977). You state the submitted photographs, audio, video, and information you have marked relate to a pending criminal case. Based upon this representation and our review, we conclude the release of the information at issue would interfere with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime. See Houston Chronicle Publ'g Co. v. City of Houston, 531 S.W.2d 177 (Tex. Civ. App.--Houston [14th Dist.] 1975) (court delineates law enforcement interests that are present in active cases), writ ref'd n.r.e. per curiam, 536 S.W.2d 559 (Tex. 1976). Thus, the department may withhold the submitted photographs, audio, video, and information you have marked under section 552.108(a)(1) of the Government Code.

In summary, the department must continue to rely on Open Records Letter No. 2010-16523 and withhold or release report number 2010-31279 in accordance with that ruling. The department may withhold the submitted photographs, audio, video, and information you have marked under section 552.108(a)(1) of the Government Code. The remaining information must be released.

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,

Paige Lay

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

PL/vb

Ref: ID# 404906

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

1. You inform us the department received the present request on September 15, 2010. You state that on September 29, 2010, the department provided the requestor with an estimate of charges. See Gov't Code §§ 552.2615, .263(a). You also inform us the department received payment from the requestor on October 13, 2010; thus, that is the date on which the department is deemed to have received the present request. Id. § 552.263(e).

2. 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. See Gov't Code § 552.147(b).

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