William Dotinga reports:
The University of California, Davis, may have to identify police officers involved in the pepper-spraying of student activists, an appeals court ruled.
While the Federated University Police Officers Association has tried to shield their names, the court held that the state law exemption to public records access does not include names in this type of situation:
“Section 832.7, subdivision (a) – the sole exemption relied upon by FUPOA – defines two categories of information protected from disclosure under CPRA. They are: (1) records relating to a mandated investigation of citizens’ complaints as defined in section 832.5, and (2) police personnel records, as defined in section 832.8, subdivisions (a) through (f),” Ruvolo wrote. “Giving these categories of information the requisite narrow construction the law requires, we conclude that FUPOA has failed to meet its burden of proving that the information the newspapers seeks is exempt from disclosure.”
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