How to Get a Domestic Violence Police Report and 911 Recording in Michigan

There are three ways to get a Michigan domestic violence police report, and which one applies depends on who is asking. The person named as the victim can contact the police agency using the notice the officer left.^[1] A person who has been charged gets the report from the prosecutor through discovery.^[2] Other people, and either of those people as a backup, can make a written Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, which is subject to exemptions.^[5][7] The act's definition of "person" does not include an individual serving a sentence of imprisonment in a state, county or federal correctional facility.^[8]

The same three routes apply, with some differences, to 911 audio and body camera video.

The three routes at a glance

Who is asking	Route	What it covers	Main limits
The person named as the victim	Contact the police agency at the number on the written notice[1]	The police incident report for the case[1]	The notice provision sets no timetable for the agency's response.[1]
A defendant in a pending case	A discovery request to the prosecutor[2]	Police reports, interrogation records, the defendant's own recorded statements, and exculpatory information[2]	Portions concerning a continuing investigation may be withheld from the report.[2]
Any "person" as FOIA defines it[8]	A written FOIA request to the agency's FOIA coordinator[5]	Public records held by the agency, including recordings[11]	Exemptions for investigating records, personal privacy, and victim information.[7][12]

What is in a domestic violence report?

After investigating or intervening in a domestic violence incident, the officer must prepare a domestic violence report on the State Police standard form or one substantially similar.^[13] It must contain, among other things, the address, date and time; identifying details for the victim, suspect and witnesses; who called police; the relationship; whether alcohol or drugs were involved; a brief narrative; whether and how many times the suspect physically assaulted the victim; a description of all injuries and how they were sustained; medical treatment; property damage; and any previous domestic violence incidents between the two people.^[13]

A report exists even if no one was arrested. Agency policy must include procedures for preparing a written report whether or not an arrest is made, and the agency must retain the completed report in its files and send a copy to the prosecuting attorney within 48 hours after the incident is reported.^[14][15]

If you are the person named as the victim

The officer must give the victim a written notice that includes the name and telephone number of the responding police agency and the name and badge number of the responding officer.^[16] The notice must state: "You may obtain a copy of the police incident report for your case by contacting this law enforcement agency at the telephone number provided."^[1]

Practical steps:

1. Find the notice. It has the agency's phone number and the officer's name and badge number.^[16]
2. Call the agency's records unit and ask for the incident report. Have the date, the address and the names of the people involved ready.
3. Ask whether photographs, body camera video or 911 audio exist and how to request them. Those may be handled as separate requests.
4. If the agency asks for a written request, put it in writing and keep a copy.

Other paperwork comes without asking. Within 24 hours after the first contact with the investigating agency, a crime victim must be given written information that includes the address and telephone number of the prosecuting attorney to contact about victim's rights.^[17] See Crime victim rights in Michigan domestic violence cases.

If you have been charged

Once a case is filed, the defense obtains the report through the court rules on discovery, not from the police front desk. On request, the prosecuting attorney must provide each defendant:^[2]

• Any exculpatory information or evidence known to the prosecuting attorney.^[2]
• Any police report and interrogation records concerning the case, except portions that concern a continuing investigation.^[2]
• Any written or recorded statements, including electronically recorded statements, by the defendant, a codefendant or an accomplice.^[2]
• Any affidavit, warrant and return for a search or seizure in the case, and any plea agreement, grant of immunity or other agreement for testimony.^[2]

These provisions of MCR 6.201 apply in all misdemeanor proceedings.^[3] A further category, covering witness lists and written or recorded statements by lay witnesses, applies in a misdemeanor case only if the defendant elects to request it, and then the defendant must provide the same in return.^[3][18]

Unless the court orders otherwise, each side must comply within 21 days of a request, and there is a continuing duty to disclose newly discovered material.^[4] If a party does not comply, the court may order the discovery, grant a continuance, bar the undisclosed material from evidence, or enter another just order.^[19]

The rule does not mention 911 recordings or body camera video by name. A request for them has to fit a category the rule does list, such as a recorded statement by a witness or by the defendant.^[18][2] Whether a particular recording fits is for the court if the parties disagree.^[19] Depositions are not available: civil discovery proceedings may not be taken for purposes of discovery in a criminal case.^[20] Details are in Discovery in Michigan domestic violence cases.

Requesting records under FOIA

Michigan's Freedom of Information Act gives a person the right to inspect, copy or receive copies of a public record after giving the public body's FOIA coordinator a written request that describes the record well enough for the body to find it.^[5] A "public record" is a writing prepared, owned, used, in the possession of, or retained by a public body in the performance of an official function, and "writing" includes sounds, pictures and every other means of recording.^[11] City, village, township and county bodies and their departments are public bodies.^[11]

The agency must respond within 5 business days after receiving the request by granting it, denying it in writing, granting it in part, or issuing a single notice extending its time by not more than 10 business days.^[6]

The right is "except as expressly provided" in the exemptions section.^[5] The exemptions most often raised for domestic violence records are these:

• Investigating records. Records compiled for law enforcement purposes may be withheld, but only to the extent that disclosure would interfere with law enforcement proceedings, deprive a person of the right to a fair trial, constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, or cause one of the other listed harms.^[7]
• Personal privacy. Information of a personal nature may be withheld if disclosure would be a clearly unwarranted invasion of an individual's privacy.^[7]
• Victim contact details. The home address, home telephone number, work address and work telephone number of the victim are exempt from disclosure under FOIA.^[12]
• Images of the victim. A picture, photograph, drawing or other visual representation of the victim, including film, videotape or a digitally stored image, is exempt from FOIA disclosure.^[21]

These exemptions are permissive ("may exempt"), and the one for investigating records applies only to the extent of the listed harms, so the response depends on the record and on whether proceedings are still under way.^[7] A defendant's right to the report in discovery does not depend on FOIA.^[2]

911 recordings

A 911 recording held by a public body fits FOIA's definition of a public record, and the same exemptions apply.^[11][7] The recording may be held by a dispatch center that is separate from the police department that responded, in which case the request goes to that body. The sources behind this guide do not give a statewide retention period for 911 audio, so ask early.

In court, a 911 recording raises questions of authentication, hearsay and relevance, and Michigan appellate courts have upheld admission of 911 tapes under several hearsay exceptions.^[22] See 911 calls as evidence.

Body camera video

Body camera recordings have their own statute, the Law Enforcement Body-Worn Camera Privacy Act, effective January 8, 2018.^[9] Three of its rules matter here:

• A recording made in a private place is exempt from FOIA disclosure, but a copy may be requested by an individual who is the subject of the recording, an individual whose property was seized or damaged in relation to the crime, a parent of such a person who is under 18, a legal guardian of such a person, or an attorney who represents such a person.^[9] That right does not reach a recording exempted under FOIA's exemptions section, the crime victim protections, or the ongoing-investigation provision below.^[10]
• A recording retained in connection with an ongoing criminal or internal investigation is exempt from FOIA, but only to the extent that disclosure would interfere with law enforcement proceedings, deprive a person of a fair trial, constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, or cause another listed harm.^[9]
• An agency must retain an evidentiary recording for not less than 30 days, and must retain recordings that are the subject of an ongoing criminal investigation or prosecution until the proceeding is complete.^[23]

Where no charge has been filed, the 30-day minimum is a reason to ask promptly.^[23] More is in Body camera footage in domestic violence cases.

Court records are a separate system

The court file, which holds the complaint, the bond order and the register of actions, is not obtained through FOIA, because the judiciary is not a "public body" under that act.^[11][24] Court records are public unless a court rule or statute provides otherwise, and requests go to the clerk of the court.^[24] In felony cases, the victim's address and telephone numbers must not be in the court file or ordinary court documents, with narrow exceptions.^[12] Safety options for keeping an address private are in Address confidentiality and safety tools.

Is the police report itself evidence?

Usually not as a document. The public-records hearsay exception does not cover, in a criminal case, a matter observed by law enforcement personnel.^[25] An officer can testify to what he or she observed, and particular statements recorded in the report may come in under other rules. See Evidence used in Michigan domestic violence cases and Statements to police under MCL 768.27c.

What people get wrong

"There is no discovery in a misdemeanor case." MCR 6.201, except for one subrule that applies at the defendant's election, applies in all misdemeanor proceedings.^[3]

"Body camera video is public." A recording made in a private place is exempt from FOIA except for requests by the people the statute lists.^[9]

"FOIA gets you everything." A public body may withhold investigating records to the extent of the listed harms, and victim contact details are exempt.^[7][12]

"You can FOIA the court." Courts are outside FOIA; court records are requested from the clerk.^[24]