Gilroy’s City Council will review an appeal by the Gilroy
Dispatch for access to 911 recordings related to a February pit
bull attack, following a Wednesday decision by the city’s Open
Government Commission.
Gilroy’s City Council will review an appeal by the Gilroy Dispatch for access to 911 recordings related to a February pit bull attack, following a Wednesday decision by the city’s Open Government Commission.
Mayor Al Pinheiro and Councilman Perry Woodward split on the issue, the first appeal made since the Open Government Ordinance was approved in November 2008. Both agreed to send the matter to the entire Council for review, although Pinheiro made it clear that he did not believe the recordings should be released. Woodward favored releasing recordings under certain circumstances. Councilman Peter Arellano, the third member of the Open Government Commission, missed Wednesday’s meeting.
The newspaper’s request is related to a Feb. 17 dog attack incident near the Uvas Levee. Doris Knapp, a 70-year-old instructor at Gavilan College, broke her hand and arm 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 dog-on-dog calls.”
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 Wednesday that she had reviewed the 911 recordings and said that the dispatcher never said those words. No one had ever complained to police about the way in which the situation was handled, she said.
Police feared that releasing 911 recordings in certain instances could expose 911 callers to potential harm and was an invasion of privacy. City Attorney Linda Callon said that releasing such recordings could expose the city to liability.
Still, Woodward said there may be some benefit to releasing certain recordings to the public, even if certain information is redacted. He said the Dispatch’s appeal presented a conflict between his most cherished values – strong law enforcement and government transparency.
“Secrecy breeds suspicion and people are going to think no matter how much they trust the chief … that there’s something on that tape,” he said.
Mark Derry, executive editor of the Gilroy Dispatch, said the newspaper 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. The public has a right to know what is happening in their communication center, he told the commission.
“The essence of the issue is what was said and who said it,” he said.
Sgt. Wes Stanford and David Boles, records supervisor for Gilroy Police Department, both contended that releasing only portions of 911 recordings would also elicit suspicions from the public.
The Council is slated to review the appeal during its July 19 meeting.
