Body Worn Camera
Dear Washington Township (Police Department)
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 from Officer Tackaberry (Badge/ID 1478)
Incident: Motor vehicle stop
Case/ Summons: 148 E26 000110
Date: 01/16/26 Approx time: 02:28 PM
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,
Ronny
Good morning Ronnie,
At this time, access to body worn camera footage from Officer Tackaberry on
1/16/26 is denied as the investigation into this matter is open and ongoing.
The New Jersey Supreme Court has concluded that early disclosure of records
containing details of the incident “will often be “inimical to the public
interest,”” and thus, would be an impediment to the state’s constitutional
obligation to investigate and prosecute responsible parties for their
alleged criminal conduct. N.J.S.A. 47:1A–3. N. Jersey Media Grp., Inc. v.
Twp. of Lyndhurst, 229 N.J. 541, 574 (2017) (citing N.J.S.A. 47:1A–3). The
Government Records Council issued a decision agreeing that ““BWC recordings
are exempt from disclosure [when] they pertain to an ongoing investigation …
and that disclosure of such records would be inimical to the public interest
because such disclosure would pose a significant risk of witness taint and
potentially inhibit the public interest in a thorough and reliable
investigation.” N.J.S.A. 47:1A-3(a).” Scott Madlinger v Barnegat Township
GRC Complaint No. 2022-678.
Your OPRA request is now considered complete.
Have a good day.
Elizabeth Schmidt
Washington Twp. Police Department
Records Bureau
1 E Springtown Road
Long Valley, NJ 07853
Direct: 908-876-8310
Fax: 908-876-5655
[email address]