Should this case follow historical precedent, the San Bernardino County Sheriff will deny any request to release the audio or transcripts of the 911 call. This department’s long-standing blanket use of exclusionary clauses in the CA Public Records Act is regularly a thorn in the side of journalists and historians.
A good example of this denial can be seen in this recent records request filed via
MuckRock. There are other issues with this request that reduced the probability of its success, but the language used to deny the request in the ultimate e-mail exchange (from Nov. 11) demonstrates the SBCS’s stance on 911 calls.
This is not to say SBCS is exceptional in creating obstacles for records requesters; the LAPD will return the following text for any request for a 911 transcript
made in connection with a criminal complaint:
In accordance with Section 6254(f) of the California Government Code, records of investigations conducted by, or investigatory files compiled by, any local police agency for law enforcement purposes, are exempt from disclosure. Should any records be located, 911 telephone calls, recordings, transcripts, witness statements and logs are either investigatory records themselves or properly part of an investigative file and therefore exempt from disclosure. The records may be produced in response to a subpoena or court order.