Peace officers: release of records.

(1) Existing law makes peace officer and custodial officer personnel records and specified records maintained by any state or local agency, or information obtained from these records, confidential and prohibits these records from being disclosed in any criminal or civil proceeding except by discovery. Existing law sets forth exceptions to this policy, including, among others, records relating to specified incidents involving the discharge of a firearm, sexual assault, perjury, or misconduct by a peace officer or custodial officer. Existing law makes a record related to an incident involving the use of force against a person resulting in death or great bodily injury subject to disclosure. Existing law requires a state or local agency to make these excepted records available for inspection pursuant to the California Public Records Act, subject to redaction as specified. This bill would make a sustained finding involving force that is unreasonable or excessive, and any sustained finding that an officer failed to intervene against another officer using unreasonable or excessive force, subject to disclosure. The bill would require records relating to sustained findings of unlawful arrests and unlawful searches to be subject to disclosure. The bill would also require the disclosure of records relating to an 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 conduct involving prejudice or discrimination on the basis of specified protected classes. The bill would make the limitations on delay of disclosure inapplicable until January 1, 2023, for the described records relating to incidents that occurred before January 1, 2022. The bill would require the retention of all complaints and related reports or findings currently in the possession of a department or agency, as specified. The bill would require that records relating to an incident in which an officer resigned before an investigation is completed to also be subject to release. For purposes of releasing records, the bill would exempt from protection under the lawyer-client privilege, the disclosure of factual information provided by the public entity to its attorney, factual information discovered by any investigation by the public entity's attorney, or billing records related to the work done by the attorney. The bill would expand the authorization to redact records to allow redaction to preserve the anonymity of victims and whistleblowers. The bill would require records subject to disclosure to be provided at the earliest possible time and no later than 45 days from the date of a request for their disclosure, except as specified. By imposing additional duties on local law enforcement agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) Existing law authorizes an agency to delay the release of a record involving the discharge of a firearm or the use of force during an active criminal investigation, as provided. This bill would expand the authorization to delay the release of records during an investigation to include records of incidents involving sexual assault and dishonesty by officers, and the records of incidents involving prejudice or discrimination, wrongful arrests, and wrongful searches that are required to be made public by this bill. (3) Existing law requires a court, in determining the relevance of evidence, to exclude from trial any information consisting of complaints concerning peace officer conduct that is more than 5 years older than the subject of the litigation. This bill would delete that provision. (4) Existing law requires an agency or department employing peace officers to make a record of any investigations of misconduct. Existing law requires a peace officer seeking employment with a department or agency to give written permission to the hiring agency or department to view that file. This bill would require each department or agency to request and review that file prior to hiring a peace officer. The bill would also require every person employed as a peace officer to immediately report all uses of force by the officer to the officer's department or agency. By imposing additional duties on local law enforcement, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (5) The California Constitution requires local agencies, for the purpose of ensuring public access to the meetings of public bodies and the writings of public officials and agencies, to comply with a statutory enactment that amends or enacts laws relating to public records or open meetings and contains findings demonstrating that the enactment furthers the constitutional requirements relating to this purpose. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect. (6) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.