Request #4250

PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST
January 7, 2019

Garden Grove Police Department
Records Division
11301 Acacia Parkway
Garden Grove, CA 92840

The Legislature of the State of California has found that “the public has a strong interest in law enforcement transparency because it is essential to having a just and democratic society.”

For this reason, effective January 1, 2019, Penal Code Section 832.7 and the Public Records Act, Govt. Code Sections 6250-6276.48, require that certain peace officer or custodial officer records be made available for public inspection. Thus, the Orange County Public Defender’s Office and the Alternate Defender’s Office, as members of the public, request that the Garden Grove Police Department provide all records, reports, investigations, or any findings, inclusive of all dates, for all officers employed by your department regarding the following :

• Any incident involving the discharge of a firearm at a person by a peace officer or custodial officer;
• Any incident in which the use of force by a peace officer or custodial officer against a person resulted in death or great bodily injury;
• Any incident in which a sustained finding was made by any law enforcement agency or oversight agency that a peace officer or custodial officer engaged in sexual assault involving a member of the public;
• Any record relating to an incident in which a sustained finding was made by any law enforcement agency or oversight agency of dishonesty 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, or destruction, falsifying, and/or concealing of evidence. These records shall include all investigation reports, photographs, audio, video evidence, transcripts of recordings or interviews, autopsy reports, all materials compiled and presented for review to the District Attorney or to any person or governing body charged with determining whether to file criminal charges against an officer in connection with the incident, whether the officer’s action was consistent or inconsistent with policy for the purposes of administrative or disciplinary action. Please include any findings of any hearings, any corrective action taken, any modifications of discipline to the Skelly or grievance process, and any letters indicating final imposition of discipline or corrective action;
• And any/all information relevant to a sustained finding against a peace officer or custodial officer allowed for public disclosure under Penal Code Section 832.7.
This document request is made pursuant to the aforementioned California Public Records Act (Gov. Code §§ 6250 et seq.). Pursuant to Government Code section 6257, I am requesting the documents be made promptly available to me. Pursuant to Government Code Section 6253, your agency has 10 days to state if you will comply with disclosure of the request documents. If your agency claims an active criminal or department investigation in refusing to provide these requires, your agency must clearly state, in writing, the specific basis for the agency’s determination for not disclosing the requesting information.

In the event that the Garden Grove Police Department fails or refuses to provide the lawfully requested records, a petition to the Superior Court of Orange County will be made pursuant to Cal. Gov. Code Section 6259 directing the disclosure of the requested records. Along with the petition, a request for a reimbursement of costs will be made under California Government Code Section 6259, subsection (d).

Therefore, the Garden Grove Police Department must provide all the requested documents in order to comply with California Law.

Any and all questions should be directed to Sara Ross at the Public Defender’s Office, 14 Civic Center, Santa Ana, California, 92701. Telephone: (714) 834-2144. Email: sara.ross@pubdef.ocgov.com.