BWC Footage
Dear Franklin Township (Hunterdon),
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,
Tony Michael
My apologies for any inconvenience. I will be out of the office until
Tuesday, September 2, 2025, with only limited access to e-mail. I will
respond to all e-mails upon my return. Should you require immediate
assistance, please contact Catherine Innella, Deputy Township Clerk, at
[email address] or Cameron Keng, Chief Finance Officer, at
[email address].
Thank you for your patience.
Sincerely,
Christine Burke, RMC, CMR, QPA
Franklin Township Municipal Clerk
Good Morning, Tony Michael.
The Franklin Township (Hunterdon County) Clerk's Office received your request this morning, Tuesday, September 2, 2025, and I am forwarding it to the Franklin Township (Hunterdon County) Police Department via this email. Please note that the Franklin Township (Hunterdon County) Clerk's Office does not have access to these records and an update regarding their availability will have to be provided by the Interim Officer-In-Charge of the Franklin Township (Hunterdon County) Police Department.
Have a great day!
Christine Burke, RMC, CMR, QPA
Township Clerk
Franklin Township, Hunterdon County
908-735-5215 Ext. 9
[Franklin Township (Hunterdon) request email]
Good afternoon.
I have been advised by the Township Attorney that approximately 45 days of Body Worn Camera footage is being requested and a great deal of time is expected to be expended to complete this request. As such, an extension of deadline is requested for an additional 14 days to respond (October 1st). It is noted that as the new deadline approaches, the Police Department and Township Attorney will have to evaluate if any additional time beyond that will need to be requested.
Have a great day!
Christine Burke, RMC, CMR, QPA
Township Clerk
Franklin Township, Hunterdon County
908-735-5215 Ext. 9
[Franklin Township (Hunterdon) request email]
Good morning.
Mr. Kevin Critchley has advised that he will be taking over Tony Michael regarding this request as Mr. Michael has experienced an incident that requires an extended leave of absence from their company. He has requested that he be included on all responses. I have included him as a recipient to this email chain.
Have a great day!
Christine Burke, RMC, CMR, QPA
Township Clerk
Franklin Township, Hunterdon County
908-735-5215 Ext. 9
[Franklin Township (Hunterdon) request email]
Good afternoon.
Please disregard my previous email indicating that Mr. Critchley should be included on this OPRA request. Apparently he was seeking a status update on a different request submitted over a month ago.
Have a great day!
Christine Burke, RMC, CMR, QPA
Township Clerk
Franklin Township, Hunterdon County
908-735-5215 Ext. 9
[Franklin Township (Hunterdon) request email]
Good afternoon.
I have been advised by the Township Attorney that the Police Department will require an additional 14 days beyond the initial extension request of October 1st. Please note that the deadline will now be October 22nd.
Have a great day!
Christine Burke, RMC, CMR, QPA
Township Clerk
Franklin Township, Hunterdon County
908-735-5215 Ext. 9
[Franklin Township (Hunterdon) request email]
Dear Christine Burke,
Good afternoon,
Just checking to see if the footage is ready?
Yours sincerely,
Tony Michael
Good morning, Tony.
I have been given no further information regarding this request. I will follow up with the Police Department.
Have a great day!
Christine Burke, RMC, CMR, QPA
Township Clerk
Franklin Township, Hunterdon County
908-735-5215 Ext. 9
[Franklin Township (Hunterdon) request email]
Good afternoon, Tony.
As of the time of this email (3:49 PM), I have not been provided an official response to my inquiry into the status of your request. I have succeeded in contacting the Officer-In-Charge of the Police Department and he has indicated that he is awaiting a response from the Township Attorney. From what the Officer-in-Charge has told me so far, the request is quite extensive, and the estimated time of completion will take considerable manhours. I believe he is working out the details with the Township Attorney so that you can be appropriately advised as to the time needed to complete the request and if a service charge may have to be applied. We apologize for the inconvenience of this delay and appreciate your patience.
Have a great day!
Christine Burke, RMC, CMR, QPA
Township Clerk
Franklin Township, Hunterdon County
908-735-5215 Ext. 9
[Franklin Township (Hunterdon) request email]
Dear Christine Burke,
If there is a service fee please advise so I can approve or deny moving forward
Yours sincerely,
Tony Michael
Good afternoon, Tony.
I sent my email just a moment too soon. The Township Attorney has requested that I forward to you the following statement regarding your request:
“The Township’s counsel is reviewing your request to ascertain whether a monetary fee for the production of the request is appropriate due to the voluminous nature of the request and the anticipated number of hours to review and appropriately redact the requested footage. As such, the Township requests an additional week to comply with your request. If the Township Attorney is able to provide an answer to the above-raised question sooner than the requested seven-day extension, I will promptly let you know.”
We will, of course, advise you as soon as possible if the Township Attorney deems that it is appropriate to assess a charge, so that we can get your approval or denial.
Once again, I apologize for the delay and thank you for your patience.
Have a great day!
Christine Burke, RMC, CMR, QPA
Township Clerk
Franklin Township, Hunterdon County
908-735-5215 Ext. 9
[Franklin Township (Hunterdon) request email]
Dear Christine Burke,
No Problem at all.
Can you please advise the township attorney that I would like to amend my request to all traffic stops between 7-1-25 though 7-15-25 to keep man hours and cost down.
Yours sincerely,
Tony Michael
Good morning, Tony.
I will forward your amendment to the Officer-In-Charge and Township Attorney.
Have a great day!
Christine Burke, RMC, CMR, QPA
Township Clerk
Franklin Township, Hunterdon County
908-735-5215 Ext. 9
[Franklin Township (Hunterdon) request email]
Good morning.
I have been given an update by the Police Department regarding your request:
"These are the new calculations for the amended request:
The submitted request is seeking all Body Worn Camera Footage of all traffic stops between 7/1/2025 and 7/15/2025. A search of our BWC for traffic stops has been completed; there are a total of 71 videos, over 500 minutes or 8.3 hours of footage. OPRA mandates that the requestor shall have the opportunity to review and object to the charge before it is incurred. See N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5c. As such, a detailed estimate is provided below:
8.38 x 2.5= 20.95 hours to review (1 hour) and redact (1.5). 20.95 hrs x $24/hr= $502.80"
Please review the information and let me know if you approve or object to the charge for this OPRA request, or if you have any questions.
Have a great day!
Christine Burke, RMC, CMR, QPA
Township Clerk
Franklin Township, Hunterdon County
908-735-5215 Ext. 9
[Franklin Township (Hunterdon) request email]