February 17, 2012

Ms. Judi S. Rawls

Police Admin. Legal Counsel

Beaumont Police Department

P.O. Box 3827

Beaumont, Texas 77704-3827

OR2012-02569

Dear Ms. Rawls:

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# 446421 (BPD no 2011-22176).

The Beaumont Police Department (the "department") received a request for information pertaining to a specified accident. ⁽¹⁾ You state you have made some of the responsive information available to the requestor. You claim that the submitted information is excepted from disclosure under sections 552.101 and 552.119 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 information made confidential by other statutes, such as section 143.090 of the Local Government Code. You state that the City of Beaumont is a civil service city under chapter 143 of the Local Government Code. Section 143.090 provides as follows:

A department, [the Fire Fighters' and Police Officers' Civil Service Commission], or municipality may not release a photograph that depicts a police officer unless:

(1) the officer has been charged with an offense by indictment or by information;

(2) the officer is a party in a civil service hearing or a case before a hearing examiner or in arbitration;

(3) the photograph is introduced as evidence in a judicial proceeding; or

(4) the officer gives written consent to the release of the photograph.

Local Gov't Code § 143.090. You state the submitted video recordings contain visual images of city police officers. However, the legislative history for section 143.090 indicates the legislature did not intend to extend the statute's protection to video recordings. Hearings on H.B. 2006 Before the House Comm. on Urban Affairs, 82nd Leg., R.S. (March 30, 2011) (bill's author, Rep. Bonnen, explained statute's protection limited to photographs and does not protect video). Accordingly, we conclude that no portion of the video recordings may be withheld under section 552.101 in conjunction with section 143.090 of the Local Government Code.

Section 552.119 of the Government Code provides as follows:

(a) A photograph that depicts a peace officer as defined by Article 2.12, Code of Criminal Procedure, the release of which would endanger the life or physical safety of the officer, is excepted from [required public disclosure] unless:

(1) the officer is under indictment or charged with an offense by information;

(2) the officer is a party in a fire or police civil service hearing or a case in arbitration; or

(3) the photograph is introduced as evidence in a judicial proceeding.

(b) A photograph exempt from disclosure under Subsection (a) may be made public only if the peace officer or security officer gives written consent to the disclosure.

Gov't Code § 552.119. Under section 552.119, a governmental body must demonstrate, if the documents do not demonstrate on their face, that release of the photograph would endanger the life or physical safety of a peace officer. You also seek to withhold the submitted video recordings under section 552.119. Upon review, we find that the department has failed to demonstrate that release of the submitted video recordings would endanger the officers' lives or physical safety. Accordingly, the video recordings may not be withheld under section 552.119 of the Government Code.

Section 552.130 of the Government Code provides information relating to a motor vehicle title or registration issued by an agency of this state or another state or country is excepted from public release. ⁽²⁾ Gov't Code § 552.130(a)(2). Upon review, we find the submitted video recordings contain license plate numbers subject to section 552.130. You claim the department does not have the technological capacity to redact the visual images in the submitted video recordings. Therefore, the department must withhold the video recordings in their entirety under section 552.130 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,

Sarah Casterline

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

SEC/ag

Ref: ID# 446421

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

1. You state, and provide documentation showing, the city sought and received clarification of this request. See Gov't Code § 552.222(b) (providing that if request for information is unclear, governmental body may ask requestor to clarify the request).

2. The Office of the Attorney General will raise a mandatory exception on behalf of a governmental body, but ordinarily will not raise other exceptions. See Open Records Decision Nos. 481 (1987), 480 (1987), 470 (1987).

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