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AB746,1,2 1An Act to create 19.35 (8) of the statutes; relating to: public access to records
2concerning the conduct of law enforcement officers.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
This bill creates a number of requirements under Wisconsin's public records
law in connection with certain records relating to law enforcement officers.
Under the bill, all of the following records are subject to disclosure under the
public records law without prior notice to the record subject:
1. Any record relating to the report, investigation, or findings of any incident
involving the discharge of a firearm at a person by a law enforcement officer or an
incident in which the use of force by a law enforcement officer against a person
resulted in death or in great bodily harm.
2. Any record relating to an incident in which a sustained finding was made
that a law enforcement officer engaged in sexual assault involving a member of the
public. The bill defines “sustained finding” to mean “a final determination by an
investigating agency, commission, board, hearing officer, or arbitrator, following an
investigation and opportunity for an administrative appeal, if applicable, that the
conduct of a law enforcement officer violated law or law enforcement agency policy.”
3. Any record relating to an incident in which a sustained finding was made
that a law enforcement officer used unreasonable or excessive force.
4. Any record relating to an incident in which a sustained finding was made
that a law enforcement officer failed to intervene against another officer using force
that was clearly unreasonable or excessive.
5. Any record relating to an incident in which a sustained finding was made of
dishonesty by a law enforcement officer directly relating to the reporting,

investigation, or prosecution of a crime, or directly relating to the reporting or
investigation of misconduct by another law enforcement officer, including any
sustained finding of perjury, false statements, filing false reports, or the destruction,
falsification, or concealment of evidence.
6. Any record relating to an incident in which a sustained finding was made
that a law enforcement officer engaged in conduct, including verbal statements,
writings, online posts, recordings, or gestures, involving prejudice or discrimination
against a person on the basis of race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry,
physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital
status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, or
military or veteran status.
7. Any record relating to an incident in which a sustained finding was made
that a law enforcement officer made an unlawful arrest or conducted an unlawful
search.
Under the bill, subject to a number of exceptions, a record of an incident
specified above that is the subject of an active criminal or administrative
investigation may be withheld.
Under the bill, records subject to disclosure above may be withheld or redacted
for any of the following purposes:
1. To remove the home address, home e-mail address, home telephone number,
or social security number of a law enforcement officer.
2. To preserve the anonymity of whistleblowers, complainants, victims, and
witnesses.
3. To protect confidential medical, financial, or other information of which
disclosure is specifically prohibited by federal law or would cause an unwarranted
invasion of personal privacy that clearly outweighs the strong public interest in
disclosure of records about misconduct and serious use of force by law enforcement
officers.
4. To protect the safety of an individual identified in a record in a case in which
there is a specific, articulable, and particularized reason to believe that disclosure
of the record would pose a significant danger to that individual.
Finally, under the bill, if criminal charges are filed related to an incident in
which misconduct by a law enforcement officer occurred or in which force was used,
the disclosure of records otherwise subject to disclosure under the bill may be delayed
until a verdict on those charges is returned at trial or, if a plea of guilty or no contest
is entered, the time to withdraw the plea. Also, the bill prohibits the disclosure of
records regarding a civilian complaint against a law enforcement officer if the
complaint is unfounded or frivolous.
For further information see the state and local fiscal estimate, which will be
printed as an appendix to this bill.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
enact as follows:
AB746,1
1Section 1. 19.35 (8) of the statutes is created to read:
AB746,3,22 19.35 (8) Right of access to law enforcement records. (a) In this subsection:
AB746,3,33 1. “Law enforcement agency” has the meaning given in s. 165.85 (2) (bv).
AB746,3,44 2. “Law enforcement officer” has the meaning given in s. 165.85 (2) (c).
AB746,3,85 3. “Sustained finding” means a final determination by an investigating agency,
6commission, board, hearing officer, or arbitrator, following an investigation and
7opportunity for an administrative appeal, if applicable, that the conduct of a law
8enforcement officer violated law or law enforcement agency policy.
AB746,3,109 4. “Unfounded” means a case in which an investigation clearly establishes that
10the allegation is not true.
AB746,3,1311 (b) Notwithstanding ss. 19.356 and 19.36 (10) (b), and subject to pars. (c) to (g),
12an authority shall make all of the following records available for inspection and
13copying under sub. (1):
AB746,3,1714 1. Any record relating to the report, investigation, or findings of any incident
15involving the discharge of a firearm at a person by a law enforcement officer or an
16incident in which the use of force by a law enforcement officer against a person
17resulted in death or in great bodily harm, as defined in s. 939.22 (14).
AB746,3,2018 2. Any record relating to an incident in which a sustained finding was made
19that a law enforcement officer engaged in sexual assault, as defined in s. 165.93 (1)
20(b), involving a member of the public.
AB746,3,2221 3. Any record relating to an incident in which a sustained finding was made
22that a law enforcement officer used unreasonable or excessive force.
AB746,3,2523 4. Any record relating to an incident in which a sustained finding was made
24that a law enforcement officer failed to intervene against another officer using force
25that was clearly unreasonable or excessive.
AB746,4,6
15. Any record relating to an incident in which a sustained finding was made of
2dishonesty by a law enforcement officer directly relating to the reporting,
3investigation, or prosecution of a crime, or directly relating to the reporting or
4investigation of misconduct by another law enforcement officer, including any
5sustained finding of perjury, false statements, filing false reports, or the destruction,
6falsification, or concealment of evidence.
AB746,4,137 6. Any record relating to an incident in which a sustained finding was made
8that a law enforcement officer engaged in conduct, including verbal statements,
9writings, online posts, recordings, or gestures, involving prejudice or discrimination
10against a person on the basis of race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry,
11physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital
12status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, or
13military or veteran status.
AB746,4,1614 7. Any record relating to an incident in which a sustained finding was made
15that a law enforcement officer made an unlawful arrest or conducted an unlawful
16search.
AB746,4,1817 (c) An authority shall withhold or redact records subject to disclosure under
18par. (b) for any of the following purposes:
AB746,4,2119 1. To remove the home address, home electronic mail address, home telephone
20number, or social security number of a law enforcement officer, unless the officer
21authorizes the authority to provide access to such information.
AB746,4,2322 2. To preserve the anonymity of whistleblowers, complainants, victims, and
23witnesses.
AB746,5,324 3. To protect confidential medical, financial, or other information of which
25disclosure is specifically prohibited by federal law or would cause an unwarranted

1invasion of personal privacy that clearly outweighs the strong public interest in
2disclosure of records about misconduct and serious use of force by law enforcement
3officers.
AB746,5,64 4. To protect the safety of a record subject in a case in which there is a specific,
5articulable, and particularized reason to believe that disclosure of the record would
6pose a significant danger to the record subject.
AB746,5,107 (d) An authority may withhold or redact a record that is subject to disclosure
8under par. (b) in a case in which, on the facts of the particular case, the public interest
9served by not disclosing the information clearly outweighs the public interest served
10by disclosure of the information.
AB746,5,1311 (e) An authority may withhold a record of an incident specified in par. (b) that
12is the subject of an active criminal or administrative investigation, subject to all of
13the following:
AB746,5,2014 1. During an active criminal investigation, disclosure may be delayed for up to
1560 days after the date of the incident or until charges are filed against the law
16enforcement officer, whichever occurs first. If an authority delays disclosure under
17this subdivision, the authority shall provide, in writing, the authority's
18determination that the public interest in delaying disclosure clearly outweighs the
19public interest in disclosure. The writing shall include the estimated date for
20disclosure of the withheld records.
AB746,6,721 2. After the period specified in subd. 1. expires, an authority may continue to
22delay the disclosure of records if the disclosure could reasonably be expected to
23interfere with a criminal enforcement proceeding against the law enforcement
24officer in connection with the incident. If an authority delays disclosure under this
25subdivision, the authority shall, no later than every 120 days, provide, in writing, a

1statement of the reasons for the authority's determination that disclosure could
2reasonably be expected to interfere with the criminal enforcement proceeding. The
3writing shall include the estimated date for the disclosure of the withheld records.
4Records withheld by the authority shall be disclosed when the reasons for
5withholding the records no longer apply, when the investigation or proceeding is no
6longer active, or by no later than 18 months after the date of the incident, whichever
7occurs first.
AB746,6,248 3. After the period specified in subd. 1. expires, an authority may continue to
9delay the disclosure of records if the disclosure could reasonably be expected to
10interfere with a criminal enforcement proceeding against someone other than the
11law enforcement officer involved in the incident. If an authority delays disclosure
12under this subdivision, the authority shall, no later than every 120 days, provide, in
13writing, a statement of the reasons disclosure could reasonably be expected to
14interfere with a criminal enforcement proceeding, and shall provide an estimated
15date for the disclosure of the withheld records. Records withheld by the authority
16shall be disclosed when reasons for withholding the records no longer apply, when
17the investigation or proceeding is no longer active, or by no later than 18 months after
18the date of the incident, whichever occurs first, unless extraordinary circumstances
19warrant continued delay due to the active and ongoing investigation or proceeding.
20In that case, the authority shall show by clear and convincing evidence that the
21interest in preventing prejudice to the active and ongoing investigation or proceeding
22outweighs the public interest in prompt disclosure of the records. The authority shall
23release all records subject to disclosure that do not cause substantial prejudice,
24including any records that have otherwise become available.
AB746,7,6
14. During an active administrative investigation, an authority may delay the
2disclosure of records until the investigating body determines whether the law
3enforcement officer violated law or law enforcement agency policy, but the authority
4shall disclose the records no later than 180 days after the date the investigating body
5initiated its investigation or 30 days after the close of any criminal investigation
6related to the incident, whichever is sooner.
AB746,7,107 (f) If criminal charges are filed related to the incident in which misconduct
8occurred or force was used, an authority may delay the disclosure of records until a
9verdict on those charges is returned at trial or, if a plea of guilty or no contest is
10entered, the time to withdraw the plea.
AB746,7,1311 (g) A record of a civilian complaint, or the investigations, findings, or
12dispositions of that complaint, shall not be released under this subsection if the
13complaint is unfounded or frivolous.
AB746,7,1614 (h) 1. A law enforcement agency or other applicable authority shall release to
15the complaining party a copy of his or her own statements at the time the complaint
16is filed.
AB746,7,2017 2. A law enforcement agency may disseminate data regarding the number,
18type, or disposition of complaints, whether sustained, not sustained, exonerated, or
19unfounded, made against its law enforcement officers if that information is in a form
20that does not identify the individuals involved.
AB746,7,2121 (End)
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