criminal-law police
Is my record still clean?
<p>Imagine this hypothetical:</p>

<p>I was in fight with a male relative and I hit him on the back in front of officer, (who came because the neighbor was reported for screaming). The officer grabbed my arm, and asked for my drivers license. They let me off with a warning, and just left.</p>

<p>So since I wasn’t arrested, is my record still clean? </p>

<p>It depends on what you mean by &quot;clean.&quot;</p>
<p>The police have probably made a record of the incident and included your name. If you're in the United States, the odds are that the public has access to that record under a freedom of information law.</p>
<p>But that's a lot of work that few people will bother with. You haven't been arrested or convicted, so the incident probably wouldn't show up if anyone did a background check, if that's what you're worried about.</p>

<p>Washington state has pretty stringent disclosure requirements, where only a few records are <a href="https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=42.56&amp;full=true#42.56.210" rel="nofollow noreferrer">exempt</a> from disclosure, primarily about "personal information" (which would not cover police-citizen interactions). However, to be disclosed, it must exist as a record. There is also a law regarding record retention, where <a href="https://www.sos.wa.gov/_assets/archives/recordsmanagement/law-enforcement-records-retention-schedule-v.7.2-(january-2017).pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this</a> covers law enforcement. Given the lack of arrest or further escalation of the matter, the record is to be destroyed after 30 days. In that sense, if you are in Washington, there is no record of the event.</p>
