February 1, 2012

Ms. Linda Pemberton

Paralegal

City of Killeen

P.O. Box 1329

Killeen Texas 76540-1329

OR2012-01653

Dear Ms. Pemberton:

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# 444482 (Killeen ID# W006805).

The Killeen Police Department (the "department") received a request for information pertaining to a specified incident, including all audio and video recordings. 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 representative sample of information. ⁽¹⁾

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 the information at issue pertains to a criminal case that is pending prosecution by the Office of the City Attorney for the City of Killeen. Based on your representation and our review, we find that release of the information at issue will 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), writ ref'd n.r.e. per curiam, 536 S.W.2d 559 (Tex. 1976) (court delineates law enforcement interests are present in active cases).

Section 552.108, however, does not except from disclosure basic information about an arrested person, an arrest, or a crime. Gov't Code § 552.108(c). Basic front-page information refers to the information held to be public in Houston Chronicle, and includes, among other items, an identification and description of the complainant. See 531 S.W.2d at 186-87; Open Records Decision No. 127 (1976) (summarizing types of information considered to be basic information). We conclude, with the exception of the basic front page offense and arrest information, the department may withhold the information at issue under section 552.108(a)(1) of the Government Code.

You seek to withhold the complainant's identifying information under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with the informer's privilege. Section 552.101 excepts from disclosure "information considered to be confidential by law, either constitutional, statutory, or by judicial decision" and encompasses the informer's privilege. See Gov't Code § 552.101; see also Aguilar v. State, 444 S.W.2d 935, 937 (Tex. Crim. App. 1969); Open Records Decision No. 582 (1990). The informer's privilege protects the identity of a person who reports a violation or possible violation of the law to officials charged with the duty of enforcing the particular law. The privilege also protects individuals who report violations to administrative agencies having a duty to enforce statutes with civil or criminal penalties. See Open Records Decision No. 515 at 2 (1988). The informer's privilege does not apply if the subject of the complaint already knows the informer's identity. Open Records Decision No. 208 at 1-2 (1978). In this case, the submitted request for information reveals the subject of the complaint knows the identity of the complainant. As such, the department may not withhold the complainant's identifying information under section 552.101 of the Government Code on this basis.

In summary, with the exception of basic information, the department may withhold the information at issue under section 552.108(a)(1) of the Government Code. The department must release the remaining information.

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,

Lindsay E. Hale

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

LEH/ag

Ref: ID# 444482

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

1. This letter ruling assumes that the submitted representative sample of information is truly representative of the requested information as a whole. This ruling does not reach, and therefore does not authorize, the withholding of any other requested information to the extent that the other information is substantially different than that submitted to this office. See Gov't Code §§ 552.301(e)(1)(D), .302; Open Records Decision Nos. 499 at 6 (1988), 497 at 4 (1988).

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