Utah Car Accident Lawyer Jake Gunter. Call/TXT (801) 373-6345
When you hire Utah car accident lawyer Jake Gunter, his team gets the police report for you. Here are Pro Tips on getting the police report and all associated video and audio.
(1). Call The Police Agency Involved. When dealing with agencies that we have not worked with before, a simple call to their record department or non-emergency dispatch will direct you how they like records requests to be received.
(2). Simple Letter to the Police Department. Often, you can write a simple letter with enough detail and identifying information and the police department will respond. Your letter, like any public records request, should have at least 3 triagulating pieces of information.
–Identify at least one party involved in the car collision.
–Identify the date of the car accident.
–You should attached all corroborating documents, like the Utah Driver’s Exchange Form to your letter to make it easier on the records custodian.
–Police case number. Often the investigating police officer will immediately provide you a case number that you can reference in your records request letter.
(3). Formal Public Record Requests. Each state has their version of formal public record requests. Utah calls their public records request “GRAMA.” The Government Records Access and Management Act is found at Utah Code 63G-2-101. With numerous exceptions, you can GRAMA most anything.
The federal version of public records request is call “FOIA.” FOIA means Freedom of Information Act. If federal actors where involved, like car accidents on federal lands, or involving federal cars, often you will need to FOIA the police report, rather than using GRAMA.
Utah State has a GRAMA archive of documents that have already been GRAMA’d by other people and are posted for free on the internet. See
Many police agencies have their GRAMA form posted on their website for download with instructions on how they like to receive GRAMA requests.
American Fork Police Department.
Spanish Fork Police Department.
(4). Online Portals for Police Reports. The Utah Highway Patrol has an online police report portal HERE: Often these reports are highly redacted.
Many other local agencies also have online portals to request police reports.
WHAT IS INCLUDED WITH POLICE INVESTIGATIONS—MORE THAN JUST THE REPORT
What materials are included and produced in police investigations? Some police reports are short and just the citation only. Other police investigations can go on for years and be hundreds of pages, with video, wiretapping and confidential informants.
In Utah car accident cases, the police report commonly contains the following:
(1). The Driver Exchange. This initial document is produced by the police officer at the accident scene and details who was involved in the Utah car accident. What their contact information is and who the insurance carriers.
(2). DI-9 Report. The official police report indicating injury or collisions is the DI-9. The DI-9 is separate from the written police report and has several overlay codes on the sides of the DI-9. You can find a form DI-9 and the overlay codes at www.nhtsa.gov. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. There is a load of information on the overlay codes for your Utah personal injury attorney to use in pursuing a settlement.
(3). The Police Report. The actual police report is the narrative of the police officer’s investigation, witnesses, interviews and evidence. The report length and detail varies greatly amongst officers, departments and types of cases investigated.
(4). Body Camera Footage. Many police agencies use mandatory body camera footage. You need to separately request any body camera footage. Body camera footage can often invaluable information in proving who the at-fault driver was.
(5). Police Car Dash Camera Footage. Most police cars have in-car camera systems that record audio and video, both front, back and in the cab. When appropriate these in-car recordings are important in showing the at-fault driver was negligent.
(6). Jail Booking Video. When people are booked into jail, often the entire booking area is recorded. When appropriate, especially in DUI cases, this booking video can be helpful in proving your car accident damages case.
(7). 911 Calls. 911 calls from the at-fault driver, or lack thereof, can be helpful. Additionally, you can sometimes track down witnesses who called into report the car accident.
(8). Police Radio Chat. The police dispatch and internal radio chat can also be obtained.
(9). Photos. Often times the police take photographs of the accident scene which can be obtained.
(10). Other Gold. Just ask and see what else the investigation may have produced.
PRO TIPS ON GETTING THE POLICE REPORTS.
Never use the mail. Always use fax or email to make requests. Snail mail is slow, wasteful and costs money.
Always pay over the phone. Never mail your payments in. That is one more thing to get lost and be slow.
Always request electronic versions for faster processing times.
Follow-up. Follow-up. Follow-up. Adequate follow-up goes a long ways in getting police investigations records in a timely fashion.