January 19 2007; Douglas County Sheriff
1/19/2007 10:14:43 AM
This is an opinion of the Commissioner of Administration issued pursuant to section 13.072 of Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13 - the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act. It is based on the facts and information available to the Commissioner as described below.
Facts and Procedural History:
On December 13, 2006, IPAD received a letter dated same, from Jerod Ochsendorf. In his letter, Mr. Ochsendorf asked the Commissioner to issue an advisory opinion regarding his right to gain access to certain data from the Douglas County Sheriff's Office. IPAD, on behalf of the Commissioner, wrote to Troy Wolberson, Douglas County Sheriff, in response to Mr. Ochsendorf's request. The purposes of this letter, dated December 18, 2006, were to inform him of Mr. Ochsendorf's request and to ask him to provide information or support for the Office's position. The Commissioner did not receive a response from Sheriff's Office. A summary of the facts as provided by Mr. Ochsendof is as follows. In a letter dated November 13, 2006, he asked for copies of the following data: Public data on any Motor Vehicle Accident (MVA) report including names and addresses of any victims involved in the MVA from September 2006-Present. Mr. Ochsendorf further wrote, I believe this data is public record in accordance with Minnesota Statute 13.83 Subd. 6 and Minnesota Statute 169.09 Sub.13 clause A and clause D. In a letter dated November 27, 2006, Christopher Karpan, Douglas County Attorney, denied the request for data.
Issue:
Based on Mr. Ochsendorf's opinion request, the Commissioner agreed to address the following issue:
Discussion:
Minnesota Statutes, section 169.09, relates to traffic accidents. It states that peace officers who investigate certain types of traffic accidents must report specific information to the Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety. (See section 169.09, subdivision 8.) Subdivision 13 of section 169.09 places restrictions on the use of and access to accident report data, but also provides situations in which certain data may be disclosed. Of relevance here is clause (d) of subdivision 13, which states, Disclosing any information contained in any accident report, except as provided in this subdivision, section 13.82, subdivision 3 or 6, or other statutes, is a misdemeanor. Minnesota Statutes, section 13.82, subdivision 3, is the law enforcement data provision that addresses the classification of request for service data. Section 13.82, subdivision 6 addresses the classification of response or incident data. The operation of section 13.82 is such that the request for service data listed in subdivision 3 and the response or incident data listed in subdivision 6 are always public, regardless of whether there is an active criminal investigation. (During the time an investigation is active, certain other data are protected. See section 13.82, subdivision 7.) Of relevance to this opinion, pursuant to section 13.82, subdivision 6(h), the names and addresses of any victims are public unless their identities qualify for protection under section 13.82, subdivision 17. In his November 27, 2006, letter, County Attorney Karpan wrote: Your request asks for public data on any motor vehicle accident report from September 2006 to the present date. If the motor vehicle accident reports you are referring to are the ones required by Minnesota Statute section 169.09 Subd. 8, those reports are private data and can only be released under certain circumstances, which are not present here. . . . There is no provision to allow the public to view every accident report completed as, again, the reports themselves are classified as private under Minnesota law. If the intent of your request was not the actual motor vehicle accident reports but any police reports containing any information about motor vehicle accidents, then I believe your response is overbroad. While certain response data on motor vehicle accidents is almost always public, much of the information on police reports is not, at least not until after I have made a charging decision. . . . The Commissioner disagrees with the County Attorney's position. As discussed above, pursuant to section 169.09, subdivision 13(d), any request for service or response or incident data contained in an accident report described under section 169.09, are public. Because these traffic accident reports are official records pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, section 15.17, law enforcement agencies should be maintaining copies after submitting them to the Department of Public Safety. Upon examination of Mr. Ochsendorf's data request, it appears he is asking for public data from recent traffic accident reports, of the type discussed above. Pursuant to section 169.09, subdivision 13(d), he is entitled to any request for service or response or incident data contained in the reports. Finally, it is important to note that if the Sheriff's Office is maintaining data on traffic accidents, the type which do not require reports to the Department of Public Safety, any request for service or response or incident data are public. Opinion:Based on the facts and information provided, my opinion on the issue that Mr. Ochsendorf raised is as follows:
Signed:
Dana B. Badgerow
Dated: January 19, 2007 |
Law enforcement data
Traffic accidents (169.09)
