Date:
06/20/2019
Subject:
Rhonda Tang/Cedar Rapids Police Department - Partial Acceptance/Partial Dismissal Order
Opinion:
The Iowa Public Information Board
|
In re the Matter of: Rhonda Tang, Complainant And Concerning: Cedar Rapids Police Department, Respondent |
Case Number: 19FC:0051 Partial Acceptance, Partial Dismissal Order |
COMES NOW Margaret E. Johnson, Executive Director for the Iowa Public Information Board (IPIB), and enters this Order accepting two parts of the formal complaint and dismissing the remainder.
Rhonda Tang filed formal complaint 19FC:0051 on May 15, 2019. She alleged that the Cedar Rapids Police Department (CRPD) violated Iowa Code chapter 22 by refusing to release various requested public records.
Ms. Tang filed this complaint on behalf of her brother, Ryan Buchheim, who is incarcerated with limited internet access. He made the record requests to the CRPD on four different occasions between March 29 and April 1, 2019. The CRPD fulfilled some, but not all, of his requests.
On March 29, 2019, he requested copies of the department's policy and procedures for āin fieldā traffic stops, the tools and systems the CRPD uses, the databases that are assessed, the differences between field and database access, and whether officers use āNCICā to conduct driver license inquiries.
On March 30, 2019, he filed another record request for āinformationā showing specific inquiries regarding him.
The March 31, 2019, record request was for a complete āraw dumpā of the police dispatch logs from the electronic dispatch system for all police activity, as well as any handwritten notes or log files. He also requested a copy of the computer and handwritten transaction files and logs from specific police cars.
On April 1, 2019, he requested all video or audio recordings recorded by any device from the same specific officers and units during the same time frame.
The CRPD Records Division Supervisor responded to his record requests and to Ms. Tangās complaint as follows:
March 29, 2019 request: āRecords from these systems are restricted and classified and our agency cannot release information to anyone outside of law enforcement or certified personnel. Mr. Buchheim was advised to contact Iowa Department of Public Safety for further information.ā The Iowa Department of Public Safety is the lawful custodian of these records.
March 30, 2019, request: These records are also restricted and classified and must be requested from the Iowa Department of Public Safety.
March 31, 2019, request: All the call log records were released. Ms. Tang indicated that she wanted what is essentially a CAD chronology report. This was provided to Mr. Buchheim during his court proceeding. It is prohibited from release as a public record under Iowa Code section 22.7(5), according to CRPD.
April 1, 2019, request: The videos and audio recordings requested by Mr. Buchheim are confidential under Iowa Code section 22.7(5) as peace officers investigative reports.
Iowa Code section 22.7(5) allows certain law enforcement records to be withheld as confidential:
5. Peace officersā investigative reports, privileged records or information specified in section 80G.2, and specific portions of electronic mail and telephone billing records of law enforcement agencies if that information is part of an ongoing investigation, except where disclosure is authorized elsewhere in this Code. However, the date, time, specific location, and immediate facts and circumstances surrounding a crime or incident shall not be kept confidential under this section, except in those unusual circumstances where disclosure would plainly and seriously jeopardize an investigation or pose a clear and present danger to the safety of an individual. Specific portions of electronic mail and telephone billing records may only be kept confidential under this subsection if the length of time prescribed for commencement of prosecution or the finding of an indictment or information under the statute of limitations applicable to the crime that is under investigation has not expired.
As to the records received by Mr. Buchheim at his court hearing, he believes that he received a redacted version and not a complete ādata dumpā as requested. It is also uncertain whether the videos and audio recordings should be considered investigative reports.
It is appropriate for the CRPD to refer the record requests of March 29 and 30, 2019, to the custodian of those records. While the other two record requests may have been appropriately reviewed and properly withheld, the rationale given to deny release appears inadequate.
Iowa Code section 23.8 requires that a complaint be within the IPIBās jurisdiction, appear legally sufficient, and could have merit before the IPIB accepts a complaint. This complaint meets those requirements as the March 31, 2019, and the April 1, 2019, record requests only.
IT IS SO ORDERED: Formal complaint 19FC:0051 is accepted pursuant to Iowa Code section 23.8(1) and Iowa Administrative Rule 497-2.1(2)(a), only as to the record requests of March 31, 2019, and April 1, 2019. That portion of the formal complaint concerning the record requests of March 29, 2019, and March 30, 2019, is dismissed as legally insufficient pursuant to Iowa Code section 23.8(2) and Iowa Administrative Rule 497-2.1(2)(b).
Parties are directed to work with IPIB staff to reach an informal resolution pursuant to Iowa Code section 23.8
Pursuant to Iowa Administrative Rule 497-2.1(3), the IPIB may ādelegate acceptance or dismissal of a complaint to the executive director, subject to review by the board.ā The IPIB will review this Order on June 20, 2019. Pursuant to IPIB rule 497-2.1(4), the parties will be notified in writing of its decision.
By the IPIB Executive Director
_________________________________
Margaret E. Johnson, J.D.
CERTIFICATE OF MAILING
This document was sent by electronic mail on the ___ day of June 2019, to:
Rhonda Tang
Cedar Rapids Police Department