February 28, 2012

Ms. J. Middlebrooks

Assistant City Attorney

Criminal Law and Police Section

City of Dallas

1400 South Lamar

Dallas, Texas 75215

OR2012-03003

Dear Ms. Middlebrooks:

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# 450502 (DPD PIR# 2012-00920).

The Dallas Police Department (the "department") received a request for information related to service number 0001564-Z. You claim some of the requested information is excepted from disclosure under sections 552.101 and 552.108 of the Government Code. We have considered the exception you claim and reviewed the submitted information. ⁽¹⁾

We first note the department seeks to withhold a 9-1-1 caller's telephone number and address. In Open Records Letter Nos. 2011-17075 (2011) and 2011-18466 (2011), this office issued previous determinations authorizing the department to withhold the originating telephone number and address, respectively, of a 9-1-1 caller furnished to the department by a service supplier established in accordance with chapter 772 of the Health and Safety Code under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with section 772.318 of the Health and Safety Code without requesting a decision from this office. See Gov't Code § 552.301(a); Open Records Decision No. 673 at 7-8 (2001) (listing elements of second type of previous determination under section 552.301(a) of the Government Code). Therefore, provided the 9-1-1 caller's originating telephone number and address were furnished to the department by a service supplier established in accordance with chapter 772 of the Health and Safety Code, the department must withhold the telephone number and address you have marked pursuant to the previous determinations issued in Open Records Letter Nos. 2011-17075 and 2011-18466.

Section 552.108 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 must reasonably explain how and why section 552.108 is applicable to the information at issue. See id. § 552.301(e)(1)(A); Ex parte Pruitt, 551 S.W.2d 706 (Tex. 1977).

You have marked the information the department seeks to withhold under section 552.108(a)(1). You state release of the marked information would interfere with a pending criminal investigation. Based on your representation, we conclude the department may withhold the marked information under section 552.108(a)(1) of the Government Code. 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 present in active cases), writ ref'd n.r.e. per curiam, 536 S.W.2d 559 (Tex. 1976).

In summary, the department (1) must withhold the marked telephone number and address of the 9-1-1 caller pursuant to the previous determinations issued in Open Records Letter Nos. 2011-17075 and 2011-18466, provided the telephone number and address were furnished by a service supplier established in accordance with chapter 772 of the Health and Safety Code; and (2) may withhold the marked 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,

Cindy Nettles

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

CN/dls

Ref: ID# 450502

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

1. This letter ruling assumes the submitted representative sample of information is truly representative of the requested information as a whole. This ruling neither reaches nor authorizes the department to withhold any information that is substantially different from the submitted information. 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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