Section 590.180

Title XXXVIII CRIMES AND PUNISHMENT; PEACE OFFICERS AND PUBLIC DEFENDERS

Chapter 590

Effective - 28 Aug 2001   

  590.180.  Licensure status of peace officer inadmissible in determining validity of arrest — open records of peace officers. — 1.  No arrest shall be deemed unlawful solely because of the licensure status of a peace officer, and evidence on the question cannot be received in any civil or criminal case.

  2.  The name, licensure status, and commissioning or employing law enforcement agency, if any, of applicants and licensees pursuant to this chapter shall be an open record.  All other records retained by the director pertaining to any applicant or licensee shall be confidential and shall not be disclosed to the public or any member of the public, except with written consent of the person or entity whose records are involved, provided, however, that the director may disclose such information in the course of voluntary interstate exchange of information, during the course of litigation involving the director, to other state agencies, or, upon a final determination of cause to discipline, to law enforcement agencies.  No closed record conveyed to the director pursuant to this chapter shall lose its status as a closed record solely because it is retained by the director.  Nothing in this section shall be used to compel the director to disclose any record subject to attorney-client privilege or work-product privilege.

  3.  In any investigation, hearing, or other proceeding pursuant to this chapter, any record relating to any applicant or licensee shall be discoverable by the director and shall be admissible into evidence, regardless of any statutory or common law privilege or the status of any record as open or closed, including records in criminal cases whether or not a sentence has been imposed.  No person or entity shall withhold records or testimony bearing upon the fitness to be commissioned as a peace officer of any applicant or licensee on the ground of any privilege involving the applicant or licensee, with the exception of attorney-client privilege.

  4.  Any person or entity submitting information to the director pursuant to this chapter and doing so in good faith and without negligence shall be immune from all criminal and civil liability arising from the submission of such information and no cause of action of any nature shall arise against such person.

  5.  No person shall make any unauthorized use of any testing materials or certification examination administered pursuant to subsection 2 of section 590.030.

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(L. 1988 S.B. 532, A.L. 2001 H.B. 80)