OCEANSIDE, Calif. -- Oceanside police are refusing to make public 911 calls made March 15 moments after an off-duty officer wounded a woman and her 8- year-old son in an apparent case of road rage.

Police, citing the Public Records Act, said the recordings could be withheld if they might jeopardize the investigation, The North County Times reported.

Peter Scheer, executive director of the California First Amendment Coalition, said the reasoning was credible.

"They're citing the right sections," Scheer told the Times. "They're saying the right things. One might be skeptical about whether the investigation might truly be jeopardized, but, since we're not in the position to know what's on that tape, we can't know if they're telling the truth."

Off-duty San Diego police Officer Franklin White, who was in a black Mercury sedan, opened fire on 27-year-old Rachel Silva, who was in a Honda, outside a Lowe's home improvement store in Oceanside, according to police. Four of five shots pierced the Honda's windshield, and one shattered the front passenger window, police said.

Silva was wounded twice in her right arm, and her son was wounded in his left leg. Both are expected to recover.

The driver's side window on White's black Mercury sedan was shattered.

White, 28, a San Diego police officer since October 2005, has made no public statements about the shooting. He is on paid leave pending the outcome of an internal investigation.

An attorney for Silva filed a claim -- precursor to a lawsuit -- against the city of San Diego, seeking unspecified damages. While claiming memory lapses, Silva has denied doing anything that would justify the officer shooting her and her son.

According to police, Silva and White, both Oceanside residents, got into a traffic dispute about 9 that night, and one followed the other into a nearby parking lot in the 100 block of Old Grove Road.

A short time later, White shot Silva and her son. What caused him to pulled the trigger has not been disclosed. He had an attorney with him when interviewed by his superiors.

White's wife, a Carlsbad police dispatcher, was with him at the time of the shooting.

Silva has said she remembers yelling at the officer while they were in their respective vehicles, but can't recall what started it. She has said she was backing her car away from White when he fired.

Police said Silva was driving on suspended license and facing a drunken driving charge when the confrontation started. Police ordered her blood taken at the hospital.

Silva is not cooperating with police, saying she doesn't trust the Oceanside department to be fair. She said White should have had to undergo a sobriety test, too.