Sacramento Bee sues city over police chief's retirement package

Saturday December 14, 2002

SACRAMENTO (AP) The Sacramento Bee is suing the city of Sacramento to get details of the retirement package city officials negotiated with Police Chief Arturo Venegas Jr.

The Bee filed its lawsuit Friday in Sacramento County Superior Court and contends the retirement package is covered by state public records requirements but city officials disagree.

``The city has been unwilling to cite any legal precedent for withholding what we clearly believe to be public information,'' said Rick Rodriguez, the Bee's executive editor.

City Manager Bob Thomas said the retirement package is part of the city's personnel records, which are not public documents.

``Based on the city attorney's advice and on my 30 years in government, personnel issues are not public documents,'' Thomas said.

Assistant City Attorney Bill Carnazzo said the law prohibits the city from releasing information from a law enforcement officer's personnel file.

``We couldn't do it if we wanted to,'' Carnozzo said. ``It's a prohibition. We are looking at it from those angles. If a court says disclose it, we will disclose it, unless somebody wants to appeal that.''

But Bee attorney Timothy Grieve says the Venegas retirement deal ``couldn't be more of a public record.''

Venegas is scheduled to step down Feb. 28 after 10 years with the department.

(Copyright 2002 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)