BWC Recordings at Edison Train Station
Charlie Kratovil made this OPRA request to Edison Township Police Department This request has been closed to new correspondence. Contact us if you think it should be reopened.
Dear Edison Township Police Department,
Under the OPRA and the common law right of access, please provide copies of all BWC camera recordings from EPD responses to the Edison train station on December 31, 2023. Thank you.
Yours faithfully,
Charlie Kratovil
Good Afternoon,
Extension on your opra request. The new due date is 1/25.
Have a great day!
Edison Police Department
Central records
Warning:
Email received by or sent to Township officials is subject to the Open
Public Records Act [OPRA]. This means that absent some specific privilege,
all such communications are considered a public record and are subject to
publication and/or dissemination to the public upon request.
Dear Police OPRA,
Thanks for the kind wishes for a great day - what is the reason that you require the extension?
Yours sincerely,
Charlie Kratovil
Dear Central records,
On January 12, you indicated you were extending the timeline for response to my OPRA request - the new "due date" given was January 25. I followed up to ask the reason for the extension and received no response.
Now it is January 26 and I still have not received any records. What is the status of my request?
Yours sincerely,
Charlie Kratovil
Good Morning,
You were emailed on 1/25 with extension and new due date of 2/16.
Records
OK. I did not receive that message. Can you please explain *why* you need an additional extension?
Yours sincerely,
Charlie Kratovil
Dear Police OPRA,
Will you be providing the records electronically or on physical media? What time will they be ready today?
Yours sincerely,
Charlie Kratovil
Mr. Kratovil,
Your OPRA request requires an extension. The new due date is 02/23/24.
Respectfully,
Edison Police Records
Dear Mr. Kratovil,
The Township of Edison ("Township") is in receipt of your Open Public Records Act ("OPRA") request seeking all body-worn camera footage captured by Township police officers at the Edison train station on December 31, 2023. Please be advised that the responsive records are part of an ongoing internal affairs investigation currently being conducted by the Township Police Department. As a result, the responsive records are not subject to public disclosure pursuant to Rivera v. Union County Prosecutor's Office, 250 N.J. 124 (2022) and the Attorney General Guidelines. Therefore, the Township must deny your OPRA request.
Respectfully,
Edison Police Records
Dear Police OPRA,
You needed three time extensions to tell me this? Can you explain why it took so long for you to issue a denial of access?
What part(s) of the Rivera decision are you referring to in your response? I am familiar with the case, and I don't believe the release of the requested records is inconsistent with that ruling. It's also not clear to me if there was any IA investigation underway when I filed my request on January 2, or when you responded requesting extensions on January 12, January 26, and February 16. When asked why you needed a third extension on February 16, you did not mention an internal affairs investigation. Rather, your response was: "To the voluminous of the request."
Please clarify when the IA investigation was initiated.
You also still have not responded to my common law right of access request. I am a reporter covering this highly newsworthy incident, which has been the subject of significant public attention locally, around the nation, and beyond. I properly requested records, citing the common law right of access, in the course of my work as a journalist covering this incident. As the editor of New Brunswick Today, I am responsible for covering news in Edison, including the activities of the Edison Police Department. I have been in this role for more than a decade. My interest in obtaining these records far outweighs any interest in keeping them a secret. Should you require more information about my purposes, feel free to contact me at 732-993-9697.
I urge you to re-consider your denial of my OPRA request, and to swiftly evaluate and respond to my common law right of access request. Thank you.
Yours sincerely,
Charlie Kratovil