August 24, 2012

Mr. Ronald J. Bounds

Assistant City Attorney

City of Corpus Christi

P.O. Box 9277

Corpus Christi, Texas 78469-9277

OR2012-13499

Dear Mr. Bounds:

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# 463151 (CCPD File Number: TRau3).

The Corpus Christi Police Department (the "department") received a request for twenty-six categories of information pertaining to a specified motor vehicle accident. You state the department is making some information available to the requestor, with certain information redacted pursuant to Open Records Decision No. 684 (2009) ⁽¹⁾, Open Records Letter Nos. 2011-16393 (2011) ⁽²⁾ and 2011-17207 (2011) ⁽³⁾, and sections 552.130(c) ⁽⁴⁾ and 552.147(b) of the Government Code. ⁽⁵⁾ You claim the submitted information is excepted from disclosure under section 552.101 of the Government Code. We have considered the exception 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 the City of Corpus Christi 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 photographs include depictions of police officers. You inform us none of the police officers depicted in the submitted photographs have provided the department with written consent regarding the release of the photographs. You further inform us none of the remaining exceptions under section 143.090 are applicable. Therefore, the department must withhold the submitted photographs under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with section 143.090 of the Local 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,

Ana Carolina Vieira

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

ACV/ag

Ref: ID# 463151

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

1. Open Records Decision No. 684 is a previous determination to all governmental bodies authorizing them to withhold ten categories of information without the necessity of requesting an attorney general decision.

2. Open Records Letter No. 2011-16393 is a previous determination authorizing the department to withhold, under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with section 772.318 of the Health and Safety Code, the originating telephone numbers and addresses of 9-1-1 callers furnished to the department by a 9-1-1 service supplier established in accordance with chapter 772 of the Health and Safety Code without the necessity of requesting an attorney general decision. See Open Records Decision No. 673 (2001).

3. Open Records Letter No. 2011-17207 is a previous determination authorizing the department to withhold criminal history record information generated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with section 411.083 of the Government Code without the necessity of requesting an attorney general decision. See ORD 673.

4. Section 552.130(c) of the Government Code authorizes a governmental body to redact, without the necessity of requesting an attorney general decision, information described in subsections 552.130(a)(1) and (a)(3). See Gov't Code § 552.130(c). If a governmental body redacts such information, it must notify the requestor in accordance with section 552.130(e). See id. § 552.130(d)-(e) (requestor may appeal governmental body's decision to withhold information under section 552.130(c) to attorney general and governmental body withholding information pursuant to section 552.130(c) must provide certain notice to requestor).

5. 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 an attorney general decision. Gov't Code § 552.147(b).

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