Louisiana Appellate Court Rules Police Files Public Records Under Louisiana Public Records Act

A Louisiana appellate court has ruled that a trial court erred in not ordering disclosure of redacted police files under the Louisiana Public Records Act, since the public had a strong interest in the information contained in them and the police officers did not have an individual privacy interest in them.

In this appeal, we consider whether the trial court erred in concluding that Internal Affairs Division (“IAD”) files of the Baton Rouge Police Department (“the BRPD”), be deemed confidential under La. R.S. 40:2532 and not subject to disclosure under the Public Records Act, La. R.S. 44:1 et seq. Finding that the police officers under investigation had no individual privacy interest in these files and recognizing a strong public interest in disclosure, we find the trial court erred in not ordering disclosure of the records after the redaction of certain protected information, as later directed in this opinion. We hereby issue a writ of mandamus directing the BRPD and the East Baton Rouge Parish Metropolitan Council (“the Metropolitan Council”) to make available to Capital City Press, L.L.C. d/b/a/ The Advocate (“Capital City Press”) a redacted copy of the IAD files within ten days of the finality of this opinion. Accordingly, we reverse the trial court’s judgment and remand for a determination of the amount of attorneys’ fees and litigation costs due to Capital City Press.