Arrest reports of incident case #2023-019891
Dear Rutgers University,
I am writing to request access to and copies of records under the New Jersey Freedom of Information Act.
Specifically, I am seeking information related to:
Arrest Date:11/12/2023
Incident Number:23RS00946
Please provide the following documents:
Arrest report
Incident report
Mugshot
Under Penalty of N.J.S.A 2C:28-3, I certify that:
1. I Have not been convicted of any indictable offense under the laws of New Jersey, any other state, or the United States.
2. I, or another person, WILL use the requested government records for a commercial purpose.
3. I AM NOT seeking records in connection with a legal proceeding.
If there are any fees associated with this request, please inform me in advance. However, I respectfully request a waiver of all fees, as the disclosure of this information is in the public interest and will contribute significantly to the public's understanding of law enforcement operations.
If you deny any part of this request, please cite each specific exemption you believe justifies the refusal and notify me of the appeal procedures available under the law.
I look forward to receiving your response within the statutory time period. Thank you for your assistance in this matter.
Respectfully,
Pamelina Manna
Attachments:
[1]R009848.pdf
[2]R009848_CAD.pdf
--- Please respond above this line ---
Reference: Rutgers Open Public Records Request, # R009848-060325
Dear Manna,
Please accept this letter as the University Custodian of Records response
to your request for records pursuant to the Open Public Records Act
(“OPRA”). On June 03, 2025, this office received your request for the
following:
“Arrest Date:11/12/2023
Incident Number:23RS00946
Please provide the following documents:
Arrest report
Incident report
Mugshot”
The University has reviewed your request. The responsive document(s) with
redactions for privacy is now available to you through the Rutgers
University Open Records Center. OPRA specifically places on the University
“a responsibility and an obligation to safeguard from public access a
citizen’s personal information with which it has been entrusted when
disclosure thereof would violate the citizen’s reasonable expectation of
privacy.” Serrano v. South Brunswick Twp., 358 N.J. Super. 352, 368 (App.
Div. 2003). Please log in to the [3]Records Center and "My Records
Center" to retrieve the appropriate responsive document(s). The
document(s) is also attached to this email for your convenience.
In response to your request for the incident report, we have reviewed your
request pursuant to OPRA and determined that the document responsive
thereto is a criminal investigatory record and is thus exempt from
disclosure. A “criminal investigatory record” is defined by the statute as
“a record which is not required by law to be made, maintained or kept on
file that is held by a law enforcement agency which pertains to any
criminal investigation or related civil enforcement proceeding.” N.J.S.A.
47:1A-1.1. The Government Records Council (“GRC”) has held that this
definition “includes commonly made police records such as incident
reports, supplemental reports and operations reports.” Blue v. Wall
Township Police Department, GRC Complaint 2002-47 (August 22, 2003). The
GRC has consistently held that investigation reports are not required to
be made, maintained or kept by law and are exempt from OPRA. See Williams
v. Union County Prosecutor’s Office, GRC Complaint No. 2019-21 (July 28,
2020); Briggs v. City of Trenton, GRC Complaint No. 2007-58 (March 28,
2007); McCrone v. Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office, GRC Complaint
2005-146 (November 22, 2005). Accordingly, your request is denied because
criminal investigative reports are exempt from OPRA as criminal
investigatory records.
Moreover, as the Court in North Jersey Media Group, Inc. v. Township of
Lyndhurst recently held, “Treating internal agency directives on record
creation or retention as ‘required by law’ would also create an anomaly
under the law…. Thus, an agency may, through formally promulgated
regulations, both require the making of a document, and exempt it from
access.” 441 N.J. Super. 70, 103 (App. Div. 2015), aff’d in part, rev’d on
other grounds, 229 N.J. 541 (2017). In that case, the Court ruled that
police reports, incident reports, operation reports, investigation reports
and offense reports are not required by law to be created and are thus
exempt under OPRA. Id at 106. Accordingly, because the incident report
responsive to your above request is a criminal investigatory record, your
request is denied.
If your request has been denied, you may take your appeal to the New
Jersey Government Records Council (NJGRC), which has mediation and dispute
resolution procedures, or you may file a lawsuit with the New Jersey
Superior Court, as provided by N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1, et seq. Your rights of
appeal is provided with this letter at [4]Public Facing Pages of the
Rutgers University Open Public Records Request Center. You may also review
the brochure at the [5]Rutgers Custodian of Records page or visit the
[6]NJGRC page.
If you have any questions, or wish to discuss this further, you may
contact my office at 973.972.6859.
Sincerely,
Ashley Sanchez
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
To monitor the progress or update this request please log into the [7]Open
Public Records Center.
References
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