Records Request

Records may be requested to Administrative Services Manager Callie Wiegel at cwiegel@cottagegrovepolice.org, or (608) 839-4652.  Completed records requests will be emailed or may be picked up in person at the department office.

Crash reports can be found at CRASH DOCS by providing the crash report number, last name of involved party and the date of the accident.

Copies of CD/DVD or flash drives containing video/photographs are $15.00 each.

Access to Traffic Crash Reports

In compliance with the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, the Cottage Grove Police Department, like many other police departments across the state, can no longer make available accident reports that include personal information prohibited from disclosure by the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act (DPPA) unless an exception applies.

The U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision in Senne v. Vill. of Palatine, 695 F.3d 597, (7th Cir. 2012 en banc, cert. pet. filed 11/5/2012) which held that under the provisions of the DPPA personal identifying information derived from the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), including an individual’s date of birth, driver’s license number, social security number, home address, home telephone number, photograph, and medical or disability information is prohibited from disclosure to the public unless one of 14 DPPA exceptions apply. The DPPA preempts any conflicting state law that regulates the dissemination of motor vehicle record information. Collier v. Dickinson, 477 F.3d 1306, 1312, n. 3 (11th Cir. 2007).

DPPA Exceptions

The exceptions to the prohibition to disclosure under the DPPA are found at 18 U.S.C. § 2721(b). The DPPA does allow release of records, with the exclusion of personal and highly restricted personal information, derived from the DMV records. All non-personal information contained within records can be released to a requesting third party. For example, personal information does not include factual information as to where, when or how an accident occurred.

If no DPPA exception applies, any member of the public may obtain a traffic crash report with personal identifying information redacted.  We apologize for this inconvenience. If this decision is overturned or modified by the U.S. Supreme Court we will then reevaluate this policy.