Gilroy’s City Council decided Monday to allow the Gilroy
Dispatch to listen to 911 recordings related to a Feb. 17 dog
attack after city officials previously denied the newspaper access
to that information.
Gilroy’s City Council decided Monday to allow the Gilroy Dispatch to listen to 911 recordings related to a Feb. 17 dog attack after city officials previously denied the newspaper access to that information.
The council voted 5-1, with Mayor Al Pinheiro dissenting, to allow a reporter from the Dispatch to listen to the recordings at the Gilroy Police Station. The council also decided the city will post a copy of the transcript of those recordings on its own website. Councilman Peter Arellano was absent at the time of the vote.
“Why be forthcoming? Why be open? Because it’s the right thing to do,” Councilman Perry Woodward said. “We’re not setting a policy. We’re not setting a precedent.”
The city’s Open Government Commission previously had recommended the council respond to the matter after hearing the Dispatch’s case June 9.
On Feb. 17, Doris Knapp, a 70-year-old instructor at Gavilan College, broke her hand and arm along the Uvas Creek levee after two pit bulls attacked her 12-year-old chow mix, causing her to get caught in the leash and fall, according to police and Knapp. Her dog, Genghis, suffered non-life-threatening bite wounds.
Knapp told the newspaper shortly after the incident that a witness who had called 911 said the dispatcher told her they don’t respond to incidents in which one dog attacks another dog.
The newspaper has been seeking the audio tapes to determine whether that claim is true. Gilroy Police Chief Denise Turner and Assistant City Attorney Jolie Houston have sent letters to the Dispatch denying the newspaper’s request.
Turner said Monday that police had reviewed the 911 recordings and said the dispatcher never said those words.
She said releasing any 911 recordings could make some callers more reticent to contact police and was an invasion of privacy. City Attorney Linda Callon said releasing such recordings could expose the city to liability, as medical information and other personal details would be released. She also said state law allows for cities to keep that information private, and most cities do so.
The Dispatch has said it is not trying to set a long-term precedent, but that this circumstance represents a principle. It is a simple matter of verifying how the emergency call was handled.
Woodward initially advocated the city allow the Dispatch to receive redacted transcripts of the 911 call. He recommended they be signed by a court official or someone else stating that under perjury that the information was accurate.
Councilman Dion Bracco said he did not trust the media with the redacted transcripts, saying they may put a spin on that information. He advocated the city post the transcripts online instead.
Councilman Bob Dillon proposed a friendly amendment that would allow a reporter to listen to the recordings at the police station.
“I say have the Dispatch go into the police station and play the damn tape,” he said.
Pinheiro dissented because he felt it was wise to listen to the city attorney and police chief. He said allowing the Dispatch to review this recording would open the door for other recordings that could expose the city to liability.
“I don’t care what anybody says, it is going to be a precedent,” he said.
