OPRA requests for information about complaints against police officers are common, particularly in view of recent high profile controversies involving encounters between the police and citizens. The Government Records Council has consistently ruled that records of citizen complaints about police officers, and police department internal affairs investigations of specific officers, may not be disclosed, under OPRA’s exemption for personnel records.

The GRC recently reaffirmed this conclusion in Wares v. Passaic County Sheriff’s Office. In this case, the requestor asked for all complaints from the public and internal affairs investigations regarding several sheriff’s officers. The GRC upheld the denial of the request on the ground that these documents fall within the personnel records exemption, noting that this statutory section covers records relating to any grievance filed by or against a public employee.

As noted in this post, the question of the confidentiality of police internal affairs investigations is currently before the Appellate Division. The trial court opinion under appeal rejected, with little analysis, the argument that the personnel exemption applies. It will be interesting to see if the appellate court agrees with the GRC’s approach to the issue.