Assistant City Attorney Sari Dierking suborned perjury from Folsom Police Department IA Sgt. David Canepa when Canepa lied under oath on July 7, 2021 in a criminal pre-trial Pitchess hearing and failed to disclose Brady material re Officer Melanie Catanio. Canepa had written complaints from Jude Chabot dated March of 2019 alleging perjury, destruction of evidence, failure to properly book evidence, falsifying reports and conduct unbecoming against Melanie Catanio, which Canepa intentionally refused to produce despite the document being responsive to the Court's order. Further, Canepa was also in possession of a similar tort claim against Catanio from June of 2021 made by the O'Neel family which was responsive to the Pitchess motion and was similarly not produced by Canepa. See letters to Sacramento District Attorney dated April 4, 2024, May 24, 2024, June 4, 2024 and July 22, 2024, together with selected supporting exhibits attached thereto. All of the documents may be accessed online at: https://gavrilovandbrooks.app.box.com/folder/255034859090?s=0trlw1cwvpxm1r85hqh7r1gws0u8x8fu

Location

Sacramento, CA, USA

38.5815719, -121.4943996

California Public Records Act

§ 6250-6268

The California Public Records Act is a series of laws meant to guarantee that the public has access to public records of governmental bodies in California. In December of 2011, a Superior Court judge ruled that the California Assembly must also disclose budget records of individual lawmakers, after some California newspapers filed a lawsuit accusing legislators of flouting the state’s open records laws.

Public records in the California Public Records Act are defined as “any writing containing information relating to the conduct of the public’s business prepared, owned, used, or retained by any state or local agency regardless of physical form or characteristics.” There is a separate category of “purely personal information” that, although it may be in the custody of a government agency, does not fall under the act. Statute 6255 states a catch all exemption, “The agency shall justify withholding any record by demonstrating that the record in question is exempt under express provisions of this chapter or that on the facts of the particular case the public interest served by not disclosing the record clearly outweighs the public interest served by disclosure of the record.”

Anyone can request public documents in California, and a purpose does not have to be stated. The California Public Records Act does not regulate the use of records obtained from public agencies. One should allow 10 days for an agency to comply with a records request.