Policy Text
Policy
1026Mountain View Police Department
Mountain View PD Policy Manual
Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2019/12/16, All Rights Reserved.
Published with permission by Mountain View Police
DepartmentPersonnel Files - 1Personnel Files
1026.1 PURPOSE AND SCOPE
This section governs the maintenance, retention and access to peace officer personnel files in
accordance with established law. It is the policy of this department to maintain the confidentiality
of peace officer personnel records pursuant to Penal Code § 832.7.
1026.2 PERSONNEL FILES DEFINED
Pursuant to Penal Code § 832.8, peace officer personnel records shall include any file maintained
under an individual officer's name relating to:
(a)Personal data, including marital status, family members, educational and employment
history, or similar information.
(b)Medical history including medical leave of absence forms, fitness for duty
examinations, workers compensation records, medical releases and all other records
which reveal an employee’s past, current or anticipated future medical conditions.
(c)Election of employee benefits.
(d)Employee advancement, appraisal, or discipline.
(e)Complaints, or investigations of complaints, concerning an event or transaction in
which the officer participated, or which the officer perceived, and pertaining to the
manner in which the officer performed official duties.
(f)Any other information the disclosure of which would constitute an unwarranted
invasion of personal privacy.
1026.3 EMPLOYEE RECORD LOCATIONS
Employee records will generally be maintained in any of the following:
Department File - That file which is maintained in the office of the Police Chief as a permanent
record of a sworn officer's employment with this department.
Supervisor Tracker Entries - Any written comment, excluding actual performance evaluations,
made by a supervisor concerning the conduct of an employee of this department.
Training File - Any file which documents the training records of an employee.
Internal Affairs Files - Those files that contain complaints of employee misconduct and all
materials relating to the investigation into such allegations, regardless of disposition.
Medical File - That file which is maintained separately that exclusively contains material relating
to an employee’s medical history.
Mountain View Police Department
Mountain View PD Policy Manual
Personnel Files
Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2019/12/16, All Rights Reserved.
Published with permission by Mountain View Police
DepartmentPersonnel Files - 21026.4 CONFIDENTIALITY OF ALL PERSONNEL FILES
Pursuant to Penal Code § 832.7, all of the above-defined personnel records shall be deemed
confidential and shall not be subject to disclosure except pursuant to the discovery procedures set
forth in Evidence Code § 1043, et seq. or in accordance with applicable federal discovery laws.
Nothing in this section is intended to preclude review of personnel files by the City Manager, City
Attorney or other attorneys or representatives of the City in connection with official business.
1026.5 REQUESTS FOR DISCLOSURE
Only written requests for the disclosure of any information contained in any peace officer personnel
record will be considered. Since the format of such requests may be strictly governed by law with
specific responses required, all such requests shall be promptly brought to the attention of the
Watch Commander, the Custodian of Records or other person charged with the maintenance of
such records.
Upon receipt of any such request, the responsible person shall notify the affected employee(s) as
soon as practicable that such a request has been made ( Evidence Code § 1043(a)).
The responsible person shall further ensure that an appropriate response to the request is made
in a timely manner, consistent with applicable law. In many cases, this will require assistance of
approved and available legal counsel.
All requests for disclosure, which result in access to an employee’s personnel file(s), shall be
logged in the corresponding file.
1026.5.1 RELEASE OF CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION
Except as provided by this policy or pursuant to lawful process, no information contained in any
confidential peace officer personnel file shall be disclosed to any unauthorized person(s) without
the express consent of the involved officer or written authorization of the Police Chief or his or
her designee.
Any person who maliciously, and with the intent to obstruct justice or the due administration of the
laws, publishes, disseminates, or otherwise discloses the residence address or telephone number
of any member of this department may be guilty of a misdemeanor ( Penal Code § 146e).
Pursuant to Penal Code § 832.7(e), the disposition of any citizen's complaint shall be released to
the complaining party within 30 days of the final disposition. This release shall be limited to the
disposition and shall not include what discipline, if any was imposed.
The Department may also release any factual information concerning a disciplinary investigation
if the officer who is the subject of the investigation (or the officer's representative) publicly makes
a statement which is published in the media and which the officer (or representative) knew to be
false. The disclosure of such information, if any, shall be limited to facts that refute any such false
statement ( Penal Code § 832.7(d)).
Mountain View Police Department
Mountain View PD Policy Manual
Personnel Files
Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2019/12/16, All Rights Reserved.
Published with permission by Mountain View Police
DepartmentPersonnel Files - 31026.6 EMPLOYEE ACCESS TO OWN FILE
Any employee may request access to his/her own personnel file(s) during the normal business
hours of the individual(s) responsible for maintaining such file(s). Any employee seeking the
removal of any item from his/her personnel file shall file a written request