City Council backs police charges for public records

Benton County's district attorney and the Corvallis City Council are standing behind the Corvallis Police Department's demand that an Adair Village man pay $100 to view the police report filed after he was stopped by officers and questioned last year.

David Picray, 59, was stopped by a Corvallis police officer just after midnight last May and questioned in a parking lot. He wasn't cited, but did file a complaint with the department.

In following up, Picray asked to see all of the files related to his case and was told by the CPD that the cost for looking at the papers would be $100. If he wanted copies, he would be charged $131.90 and if he wanted the copies mailed to him the price would be $141.30.

"I'm not just going in and asking for some random documents," Picray said. "This is a report written about me."

In line with Oregon law, Picray appealed to the district attorney, arguing that the fees were too high and that the costs should be waived.

In response, District Attorney John Haroldson said the costs were in line with state law, which allows agencies to recoup costs associated with finding, redacting and copying records and were in fact less than the actual cost of doing the work. Haroldson also denied a fee waiver.

"The denial of your petition only serves to deny the waiver or reduction of fees," Haroldson wrote. "You still have the right to have the Corvallis Police Department proceed with making the records available, subject to the fee estimates."

State law allows for fee waivers if the agency deems that the petitioner has the public interest in mind. That's a provision journalists often cite when the information is going to be made available to a larger audience.

But attorney Jack Orchard, who works on behalf of the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association, said public interest is in the eye of the beholder.

"Why is that not a simple request that can be handled in a few minutes?" Orchard said. "(Charging) $100 is a discouragement."

During Monday's City Council meeting, Ward 5 Councilor Mike Beilstein said he'd left an angry message on Police Chief Gary Boldiszar's phone after reading Haroldson's letter denying Picray's request for a fee waiver. Beilstein said he was initially concerned about the size of the fees, but that he had reconsidered and doesn't believe the charges are excessive.

CPD charges $50 per hour to find and prepare materials, 15 cents per page for copies, and $9.40 for priority mail delivery.

Ward 4 Councilor Dan Brown defended the charges Monday, saying they were appropriate for the city to avoid spending money rooting out requests for information by people looking to "poke a stick in the eye of local government," and that only a few people were "smart enough to know what can be copied and what can't."

But Orchard said law enforcement agencies often falsely claim the need to redact, or remove personal information or material that is part of a police investigation. The law, he said, stipulates that information that is part of a police investigation is not to be included in a basic arrest report.

"If you put investigative material in there, you've made a mistake," Orchard said.

Because Picray was never arrested, it is unclear what material might need to be removed from the records he requested.

The state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union supports reasonable fees for copies of public documents, according to spokesman Brian Willoughby, but said when costs start to add up, they can be an impediment to public access.

"Our hope would be that an agency would meet someone at a reasonable place and at least let them view a document at a reasonable rate," Willoughby said.

Unless Picray decides to pay the fee for his report, the only remaining option is to take the matter to court, something he's so far unwilling to do.

"All these people involved have cost the taxpayers a lot more than just laying the documents on a table and having me look at them," Picray said.

Matt Neznanski can be reached at 758-9518 or matt.neznanski@lee.net.