Follow-Up Request -Long Beach City Prosecutor's Brady List
| Tracking # |
C014106-032322 |
| Submitted | March 23, 2022 |
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Communications
From: Greg Buhl
To the Long Beach City Prosecutor:
This request is a follow up to PRA number C013300-122121, which was rejected for reason related to confidentiality.
Pursuant to the California Public Records Act, I hereby request the following records:
1) A redacted* copy of the Brady List maintained by the City Prosecutor.
2) All Public records obtained by the LB City Prosecutor from the LBPD via the Public Records Act requests or SB 1421 from 1/1/2019 to the data of the request, if any such requests have been filed.
*Senate Bill 1421 deems three types of records nonconfidential. First, records “relating to the report, investigation, or findings” of an incident in which an officer (i) discharged a firearm at a person or (ii) used force against a person resulting in death or great bodily injury. (Pen. Code, § 832.7, subd. (b)(1)(A).) Second, records “relating to an incident in which a sustained finding was made by any law enforcement agency or oversight agency” that an officer “engaged in sexual assault involving a member of the public.” (Id., § 832.7, subd. (b)(1)(B)(i).) And third, “[a]ny record relating to an incident in which a sustained finding was made by any law enforcement agency or oversight agency of dishonesty by a peace officer or custodial officer directly relating to the reporting, investigation, or prosecution of a crime, or directly relating to the reporting of, or investigation of misconduct by, another peace officer or custodial officer, including, but not limited to, any sustained finding of perjury, false statements, filing false reports, destruction, falsifying, or concealing of evidence.” (Id., § 832.7, subd. (b)(1)(C); see also id., § 832.7, subd. (b)(2)-(4).) Any portion of a Brady list based on these types of records is not confidential, and section 832.7(a) does not restrict dissemination of such information.
While I am not disputing your argument in response to my last PRA, I do not think the correct result is no responsive documents. I think we should be dealing in degrees of redaction and for the sake of expediency I am willing to accept a heavily and conservatively redacted document, if that is the best that can be produced without creating an undue burden of having to investigate the sources of data. However, some entries pertaining to the three categories above should be easy to identify as non-protected. For all our sake I hope the list isn’t so long that redacting it is overly burdensome, if that is the case all the more reason to put the effort into redacting and releasing it. Sunshine is the best disinfectant.
Thank you,
Greg Buhl
CheckLBPD.org
From: City Manager's Office
Dear Greg Buhl: Thank you for submitting a request for public records to the City of Long Beach. Pursuant to California Government Code § 6253, staff will review your request and respond within 10 days to notify you if there are responsive records, or if an extension is necessary to determine whether responsive records exist.
If your request was received after business hours or on a weekend or holiday, the next business day will be considered the date of receipt. The 10-day response period starts with the first calendar day after the date of receipt (Ca. Civ. Code, § 10).
You may be contacted by a City staff member if there are questions regarding your request.
NOTICE: Public records requests and transparency remain of utmost importance, and we are continuing to respond to requests under California Government Code guidelines. However, you may experience delays in response times as we are focusing on handling high priority issues related to COVID-19 (Coronavirus). Pursuant to Government Code section 6253(c) there may be delays due to unusual circumstances. Thank you again for contacting the City of Long Beach. You may track the status of your request here in My Request Center. Sincerely,
From: City Manager's Office
--- Please respond above this line ---
RE: Public Records Request Reference Number: C014106-032322
Dear Greg Buhl,
Thank you for submitting your request for public records. After reviewing your request, we have determined that additional or more detailed information is needed to appropriately search for records.
Specifically, please provide the reference number for the previous PRA referenced in this request.
While the California Public Records Act (PRA) provides members of the public with access to public records, it is not unlimited in its scope. California courts have acknowledged that members of the public may request documents from municipalities pursuant to the PRA, even if they are unable to precisely identify the documents sought. However, the request must still reasonably describe the information contained in the records sought such that the municipality can locate the records with “reasonable effort” [Cal. First Amend. Coalition v. Superior Court (1998) 67 Cal. App. 4th 159].
The request must be focused and specific [Rogers v. Superior Court (1993) 19 Cal. App. 4th 469] and clear enough so that the agency can decipher what record or records are being sought. Moreover, the City is not required by law to create a record or list if one does not already exist at the time the request is submitted. The City will wait for your response before proceeding with this request. If we do not hear back from you within 10 calendar days, your request will be closed.
Thank you,
From: Greg Buhl
Hi, the number for my previous request was already given, C013300-122121.
From: City Manager's Office
--- Please respond above this line ---
Hi, Mr. Buhl,
My apologies for missing that info -- I see you clearly listed that at the beginning of your request. I've asked the City Prosecutor's Office to provide any available records and will let you know what they say.
Best,
Megan Felix
From: City Manager's Office
--- Please respond above this line ---
RE: Public Records Request Reference Number: C014106-032322
Dear Greg Buhl,
In response to your request for public records received on 3/23/2022 9:55:32 PM and tracked as PRA # C014106-032322, the City of Long Beach is withholding records. Please find the letter from the City Prosecutor's Office via the link below which explains the reason for withholding.
Please click here to log into your account and view/download the letter:
As a courtesy, the City Prosecutor's Office have provided the following links related to items within your request.
Officer Involved Shootings: https://www.longbeach.gov/police/about-the-lbpd/lbpd-1421748/ois/
Use of Force: https://www.longbeach.gov/police/about-the-lbpd/lbpd-1421748/use-of-force/
Sexual Assault/Dishonesty: https://www.longbeach.gov/police/about-the-lbpd/lbpd-1421748/sexual-assault--dishonesty/
PRA Request # C014106-032322 is now closed.
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