Body Camera Footage
Dear Frenchtown Borough,
Please accept this electronic request for public records made under OPRA and the common law right of access. I am not required to fill out an official form or use a particular software platform to submit my request per NJSA 47:1A-6(f), which states that an email from a requestor including all of the information required on the adopted form shall suffice in place of a completed form as a valid government record request.
I HAVE NOT been convicted of any indictable offense under the laws of New Jersey, any other state, or the United States.
I WILL NOT use the requested government records for a commercial purpose.
I AM NOT seeking records in connection with a legal proceeding.
Records requested: Body Worn Camera Footage of all traffic stops between 6-1-25 and 7-15-25
My preferred delivery method for response(s) to this request is by E-mail as attachments. Please confirm you have received this request. If you are not the custodian of records, please forward my request to that person and provide their email address to me for future reference.
Yours faithfully,
Citizen
Good Morning Mr. Michael,
The Borough seeks an extension of your request for an additional 7 days to
review the request. The new due date will be 9/23/2025.
Samantha M. Gravelle, RMC
Borough Clerk
Borough of Frenchtown
908-996-4524
Good Afternoon Mr. Michael,
Frenchtown Borough is in receipt of your request for copies of body-worn
camera footage for all traffic stops conducted police officers during the
period from July 1, 2025 through July 20, 2025. The request as written is
overly broad and unduly burdensome as the responsive recordings span over
100 traffic stops.
Please advise which specific incident you are requesting and we will
fulfill your request. If we do not receive a response in 5 business days,
we will consider this request closed
Samantha M. Gravelle, RMC
Borough Clerk
Borough of Frenchtown
908-996-4524
Dear Samantha M. Gravelle,
Could I get any traffic stop performed on July 4th?
Yours sincerely,
Tony Michael
Good Morning,
The request for Body Worn Camera footage of all traffic stops performed on
7/4/25 is still overly broad and burdensome. Twenty-two motor vehicle
stops were conducted which resulted in twenty-seven videos. Each video
will take approximately 30 minutes to redact as it must be viewed three
times, first to determine if redaction is necessary, a second time to
redact and then a third time to ensure the redactions occurred. A special
service charge will be required for the extraordinary expenditure of time
required for this process. Per OPRA, using the lowest hourly pay of the
person able to do the work, which is $51.92.
Please submit a new OPRA request, either: 1) Narrowing the scope of your
original request to a short period (~30 minutes) of time or to a specific
traffic stop, or 2) requesting that the Department fulfill your original
request in totality, for which the department will impose a 'special
service charge' of $700.92, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5, for the
estimated 13.5 hours of work required to respond. Please understand that
if we determine that the work takes longer, you will be billed for the
additional time. If the work is completed sooner than expected, you will
receive a partial refund.
An acknowledgement that you accept the charge in full and a 50%
deposit($350.46) will be required before any additional work is done. Your
request is now considered complete.
If you have any questions or require additional information, please
contact the Borough Clerk.
For future reference, checks can be made payable to 'Borough of
Frenchtown" and can be sent to:
Borough of Frenchtown Attn: OPRA
29 2nd St
Frenchtown, NJ 08825
Samantha M. Gravelle, RMC
Borough Clerk
Borough of Frenchtown
908-996-4524