Press Releases

Question: Is the custodian’s decision to classify an audio recording as an employee evaluation and withhold the audio recording from disclosure consistent with the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)?

Brief Response: Without reviewing the recording, I cannot definitively determine whether it constitutes a personnel record, an employee evaluation, or a mixed record. But based on the information you provided, the recording is likely a mixed record, and the custodian should apply the applicable tests for disclosure to each portion of the recording. Further, I cannot determine the lieutenant’s reason for recording the telephone call. If it is the Fayetteville Police Department’s policy to record all telephone calls, then the recording was not created to evaluate the officer who was the subject of your complaint, and the recording would not be an employee-evaluation record. Instead, it would be a personnel record subject to release unless its disclosure would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. If, however, the lieutenant recorded the telephone call for the purpose of investigating your citizen complaint, then that part of the recording cannot be released unless the four-part test governing the release of evaluation records has been met.