Obtaining Police Reports and Disclosure

How Defendants Can Obtain Disclosure
Defendants who do not have a defense attorney may obtain a copy of their police report for $.25 per page and any other relevant disclosure at a minimal charge through the City Prosecutor’s Office.  They must appear in person to make their request. Represented defendants may also obtain police reports through the City Prosecutor’s Office, but may prefer to go through their attorney.

Disclosure for Defense Attorneys and Unrepresented Defendants

I. DUTY TO DISCLOSE

The State will disclose all of the discoverable materials currently in possession of the City Prosecutor's Office pursuant to Rule 15.1 and Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 83 S. Ct. 1194,10 L.Ed. 2d 215 (1963). Any discoverable materials received following initial disclosure will be disclosed upon receipt.

II. DISCLOSURE COPIES

Rule 15.1 of Criminal Procedure only requires the State to "make available to the defendant for examination and reproduction" discoverable materials. Because of the amount of material and the number of requests for disclosure, the City Prosecutor's Office does not automatically copy disclosable items in all cases. A defendant or counsel may request copies at twenty-five cents ($.25) per page. In most instances, copies that are made will be one-sided. To make a request for specific disclosure contact the City Prosecutor’s Office at (520) 791-4104.

HGN LOGS

If the HGN Log you are seeking is not listed on the above listed web addresses, please contact Tucson Police Department (TPD) Sergeant Leotaud at 791-5181 or the officer in question via Sergeant Leotaud. In addition, HGN certifications may be obtained directly from the police officer who administered the HGN in this case. Officers may be contacted by requesting officer interviews via the

Tucson Police Department Attorney Interview Request Fax Service Request Form (pdf)

HGN Logs generated before July 1, 2005, are currently available at:
www.ci.tucson.az.us/police/hgn_logs

HGN Logs generated after July 1, 2005 are currently available at www.ci.tucson.az.us/police/hgn_logs/hgn_start.php or
http://www.cityoftucson.org/police-cgi-bin/get_dir_list.pl

INTOX LOGS

All records of periodic maintenance, including the results of calibration and quality assurance tests, generated by the TPD regarding this instrument are maintained at the City Prosecutor's Office, 103 East Alameda, Suite 501. Pursuant to Rule 15.1, the prosecutor need only "make available to the defendant" discoverable materials. Due to the volume of discovery requests and this office's present personnel shortage, it is unduly burdensome for the State to make copies of Intoxilyzer logs for disclosure in every DUI case. Instead, Intoxilyzer Logs generated after January 1, 2004, are currently available at: www.ci.tucson.az.us/police/IntoxRecords/Intox/ .

 

III. POLICE COMMUNICATIONS MATERIALS AND/OR TAPES

These materials, if any exist, are made available through the methods outlined below. It is up to a defendant or counsel to obtain them while they still exist.

A. Incident History Information.
A record of the activities of the officer(s) involved in the Defendant's arrest is contained in an incident history printout . Defense counsel may obtain an incident history printout through the TPD Records Section, which is located at TPD Headquarters, 270 S. Stone Avenue, 85701. Defense counsel may respond in person to request a copy or contact the Records Section at (520)791-4462 in advance so that it's ready for pickup. Records personnel will require the case number to reference the requested printout.

Unrepresented defendants may obtain the incident history by sending a written request to the TPD Legal Advisor's Office at 270 South Stone Avenue, Tucson, Arizona 85701. The Legal Advisor's Office will forward the request to Records, which will send copies to the defendant. The written request should contain enough information concerning the event so that the incident report may be located; the Tucson Police Department case number is preferable, but a description of the date and time of the event including the officers' names and the location will usually be sufficient.

The Tucson Police Department Communications Division saves incident history information for only one hundred and eighty (180) days. Accordingly, arrangements must be made (through the methods described above) with the TPD Records within 180 days of arrest. The State satisfies its due process obligations under Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963) by notifying the defendant of the disposal date of the incident history information. See 17 A.R.S. Rules of Crim.Proc., Rule 28.2; State v. Mance, 152 Ariz. 413, 733 P.2d 298 (App. 1986); Mongan v. Pima County Superior Court, 148 Ariz. 486, 715 P.2d 739 (1986).

B. Radio Dispatch and 911 Communications.

All radio dispatch and 911 communications may be obtained within the same 180-day time frame by writing a letter to Tucson Police Department, Attention: Communications at 270 S. Stone Avenue, 85701. In addition, “Attempt to Locate” records are automatically purged from the system twenty days after the record entry is made.

Unrepresented defendants should send a written request to the Legal Advisor's Office as described above.

C. Mobile Data Terminal (MDT) Information.

Tucson Police Department Communications saves Mobile Data Terminal information for the length of five (5) 24-hour tapes. However, if there is a shut down or if there is a malfunction, a new tape automatically begins. Thus, if all five tapes had a malfunction on the same day, the tapes would only be available for that day. The maximum period of time for which they are preserved is five (5) 24-hour consecutive periods.

IV. INTOXILYZER INSTRUMENT INFORMATION AND OPERATOR PERMITS

The name of the operating officer is included in the police reports. A copy of the Intoxilyzer permit of the operating officer is kept at the City Prosecutor's Office, and a defendant and/or defense counsel is free to examine and/or obtain a copy the permit at his/her convenience. ( See Section II above. )

QAS PERMITS

Certifications of the specialists who perform the quality assurance service on the instrument in question may be obtained by contacting the quality assurance specialist directly: Terry Gallegos or Jennifer Coombs. They may be reached at (520) 791-4494.

Specific technical information regarding individual instruments may be obtained by interviewing the Tucson Police Department Crime Laboratory technicians responsible for these instruments: Terry Gallegos or Jennifer Coombs. They may be reached at (520) 791-4494.

Whether an instrument in a specific case was acquired new or used, and the date of its first certification, is information that may be obtained from the Tucson Police Department Crime Laboratory at (520) 791-4494. Additionally, all internal memoranda and logs, including the results of calibration and quality assurance tests, generated by the Tucson Police Department regarding this instrument are maintained at the City Prosecutor's Office. A complete maintenance and repair history of the breath testing instrument for at least 90 days prior to and subsequent to the date of the test is available for inspection at the City Prosecutor's Office.

OPERATOR'S MANUAL

The complete text of the instruction or operator's manual and maintenance manual, along with any supplements, may be requested from the Tucson Police Department crime lab technician responsible for this instrument. The TPD Crime Laboratory number is (520) 791- 4494. These items, however, are protected by copyright and may not be reproduced. The Defendant may wish to contact the manufacturer or distributor regarding the possibility of purchasing a copy of the stated materials.

V. EXPERT TESTIMONY RE: INTOXILYZER BREATH TEST RESULTS

Tucson Police Department Crime Laboratory Technicians Terry Gallegos or Jennifer Coombs may be called by the State as an expert witness with regard to the Intoxilyzer breath test results. They may be reached at (520) 791-4494. The names of any other expert witness to be called by the State will be disclosed in the pretrial statement, or twenty days prior to the actual trial date.

VI. TPD EMPLOYEE/OFFICER INTERVIEWS

A defendant or counsel has the right to interview police officers and civilian employees in criminal cases unless the officer or employee was the victim of the offense. Pursuant to Tucson Police Department General Orders an interview between a Tucson Police Department officer or employee and a defendant or counsel shall take place at the police facility out of which the officer or employee works, or any other appropriate office setting agreed upon. The interview must be scheduled to take place during the officer or employee’s on duty hours and between the time period of 8:00 AM and 6:00 PM hours, Monday through Friday. If this is not possible (e.g., the officer or employee works from 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM) the interview must be scheduled to take place between 8:00 AM and 6:00 PM and as close as possible to the start or end of the officer or employee’s shift. Interviews shall not be scheduled on the officer or employee’s day off. Unless specifically agreed upon pretrial interviews may not continue past 9:00 PM.

VII. TUCSON POLICE DEPARTMENT OFFICERS’ DAILY LOGS

Tucson Police Department officers do not keep daily activity logs.

VIII. TUCSON POLICE DEPARTMENT OFFICERS’ TRAINING MATERIALS (DUI/Field Sobriety Tests)

A guide to Field Sobriety Tests can be found in the Tucson Police Department General Orders manual located in the Governmental Reference Section of the Main Library. A copy of the DWI Detection and Standardized Field Sobriety Testing - Student Manual can also be found at the Main Library. Information about training materials within the Tucson Police Department officers' possession can be obtained through interviews of the individual officer.

IX. OFFICER “QUOTAS”

Tucson Police Department officers do not work under a ‘quota’ system.

X. DISCLOSURE IN PRETRIAL STATEMENTS

A. Written Materials

All documents, reports, articles, books, statements, or other evidence in connection with a case, including, but not limited to, scientific tests, experimental comparisons, laboratory reports, photographs, diagrams, charts, or tangible evidence which the State intends to use at trial will be disclosed prior to the trial. This information will be disclosed in the form of documents, or it will be listed in the pretrial statement, or both.

B. Witnesses and/or Experts

The names of all individuals having knowledge of the offense charged, or interviewed by the officer, are included in the police reports, or will be disclosed in the pretrial statement. Names of all witnesses the State intends to call in its case-in-chief are contained in the police reports or will be disclosed in the pretrial statement. Certain sensitive information, such as phone numbers and addresses, of civilian witnesses, particularly victims, may be redacted from the police reports before they are disclosed. In Arizona, in most criminal cases, the victim may refuse an interview by a defendant or counsel. However, if requested, the State will contact the victim to determine if they are willing to be interviewed. The State will also disclose the names and contact information of any expert(s) that it will be calling in its case in chief in the pretrial statement.

XI. EXCULPATORY INFORMATION

Beyond the initial disclosure, there is often no other information that tends to exculpate a defendant, either through an indication of innocence or through the potential impeachment of any State’s witness. However, should the State subsequently discover exculpatory information following initial disclosure it will be immediately disclosed.

XII. MOTOR VEHICLE RECORDS AND PRIOR CONVICTIONS

Other than the information contained in police reports, the State is typically unaware of any other evidence obtained by observation of police witnesses that will be used by the State in specific cases. Should any additional evidence or information become available following initial disclosure, the State will disclose it to Defendant immediately following discovery.

The State often performs Motor Vehicle Division (MVD) and criminal background checks on defendants at the onset of cases. Any information obtained as a result of these checks will be disclosed upon request and in the initial disclosure.