Sgt. James Egan of the Hollister Police Department on Dec. 1 had
a driving under the influence charge reduced in a plea deal offered
by the district attorney’s office that found him guilty of reckless
driving. The district attorney’s office and the CHP have declined
to release the BAC, while .08 percent or higher is considered
legally drunk.
HOLLISTER
The San Benito County District Attorney’s Office is legally required to release the blood-alcohol content of a Hollister police officer whose January drunken driving charge was reduced to a lesser conviction earlier this month, an open records attorney told the Free Lance.
Sgt. James Egan of the Hollister Police Department on Dec. 1 had a driving under the influence charge reduced in a plea deal offered by the district attorney’s office that found him guilty of reckless driving – which carries a sentence of probation for a year, a $480 fine and 40 hours of community service. The plea bargain came after Egan’s attorney had argued the California Highway Patrol officer who arrived at the hospital and suspected alcohol use did not have probable cause for an arrest.
The district attorney’s office and the CHP have declined to release the BAC, while .08 percent or higher is considered legally drunk.
“Each of the agencies has the burden of indicating to you which statute permits them to overcome the access to information,” said Jim Ewert, legal counsel for the California Newspaper Publishers Association.
Deputy District Attorney Patrick Palacios, who handled the Egan case, has told the Free Lance the office would not release the BAC level because it “didn’t come out in a public forum.”
He said the office had been reviewing an official public records request from the Free Lance, which sent the same inquiry to the CHP as well.
“I don’t think we agree at this point,” Palacios told the Free Lance.
The open records attorney, however, said the BAC is a public record whether it is disclosed in a public setting, barring the existence of an exemption in this case of which he is unaware.
Ewert noted that while arrest reports are not releasable, the “factual circumstances” of a case contained within those documents are, indeed, available for public consumption.
CHP Officer Chris Armstrong, the local office’s spokesman, explained that the CHP has a statewide policy against releasing the BAC record. He said the office routinely leaves it up to local district attorneys to release blood-alcohol content at a point when it does not jeopardize their cases.
“When the D.A.’s case is no longer in jeopardy, they can release it,” Armstrong said. “That’s the CHP’s policy on that.”
District Attorney Candice Hooper has not returned repeated phone calls from the Free Lance.
