Crash Report
Dear Lakewood Township,
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-5(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:
Info Jose Perez-Parada, 35, of Jackson, was charged with Knowingly Leaving the Scene of a Motor Vehicle Crash Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury in connection with an incident that occurred in Lakewood on March 27, 2026. On March 27, 2026, at approximately 8:30 p.m., Officers from the Lakewood Township Police Department responded to the area of Hope Chapel Road and Hope Hill Lane for a report of a hit-and-run involving a pedestrian.
I am requesting the following records:
Police report from this incident
CAD report from this incident
Body camera footage of the arrest of Jose Perez-Parada on file with the police dept.
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,
Rich Walz
Dear Requestor,
Thank you for submitting a Open Public Records Act Request Form on
03/30/2026. As such, the Township will respond as soon as possible but no
later than seven (7) business days.
Your request reference number is [1]Request Number: OPRA-JF2026-520 and
your security key is 9F2E04F0.
Use this information to track the status of your request at any time and
to receive responsive documents through the Township of Lakewood JustFOIA
Public Portal here:
[2]https://lakewoodnj.justfoia.com/publicpo...
Please have both reference numbers available when communicating with our
staff regarding your request.
Thank you,
[3]Label1
Township of Lakewood, NJ
231 Third Street
Lakewood, NJ 08701
(732) 364 - 2500
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References
Visible links
1. https://url4102.request.justfoia.com/ls/...
2. https://url4102.request.justfoia.com/ls/...
The Township of Lakewood received your Open Public Records Act (OPRA)
request on 3/30/2026. As such, the seven (7) business day deadline to
respond to your request is 4/9/2026. This response to your request is
being provided to you on the 5th business day after the custodian's
receipt of said request.
Your OPRA request sought the following:
Info Jose Perez-Parada, 35, of Jackson, was charged with Knowingly Leaving
the Scene of a Motor Vehicle Crash Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury in
connection with an incident that occurred in Lakewood on March 27, 2026.
On March 27, 2026, at approximately 8:30 p.m., Officers from the Lakewood
Township Police Department responded to the area of Hope Chapel Road and
Hope Hill Lane for a report of a hit-and-run involving a pedestrian.
I am requesting the following records:
Police report from this incident
CAD report from this incident
Body camera footage of the arrest of Jose Perez-Parada on file with the
police dept.
The following records being provided are responsive to your request.
1. CAD
Please be advised that the police report cannot be released in accordance
with N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1.1 Criminal investigatory records - records which are
not required by law to be made, maintained, or kept on file that are held
by a law enforcement agency which pertain to any criminal investigation or
related civil enforcement proceeding.
Please click on the request link here: [1]Request Number: OPRA-JF2026-520
to download any responsive documents that may have been released to you.
The table attached identifies the redacted records being denied in whole
or in part as well as the legal basis for each denial, as is required by
N.J.S.A. 47:1A-6.
Regarding your request for the body camera footage, OPRA allows public
agencies to impose special service charges whenever the nature, format,
manner of collation, or volume of a government record embodied in the form
of printed matter to be inspected, examined, or copied pursuant to this
section is such that the record cannot be reproduced by ordinary document
copying equipment in ordinary business size or when fulfilling a request
requires an extraordinary expenditure of time and effort. See N.J.S.A.
47:1A-5.c. Special service charges must be based upon the actual direct
cost of providing the copy or copies.
report is denied criminal investigatory, CAD has been added, special
service fee for the video breakdown as follows. 9.95 hours of video for
29.85 hours of work, times the lowest paid employee $24.97= $745.35
special service fee for the body cam.
OPRA mandates that the requestor shall have the opportunity to review and
object to the charge prior to it being incurred. See N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5.c.
As such, a detailed estimate is provided below:
24.97 [lowest level employee capable of fulfilling the request's direct
hourly rate (minus fringe benefits)] x 29.85 [number of hours anticipated
to complete request] = $745.35 [total estimated special service charge].
OPRA permits the custodian to require a deposit or prepayment of fees for
requests received from anonymous requestors. N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5(f). Or an
agency may also require a deposit or prepayment of fees when a request is
voluminous, unusual, or requires the use of an outside vendor. As such,
the 50% deposit is $372.68.
Kindly respond in writing with your acceptance or rejection of this
estimated charge. We will not begin to process this portion of the request
until we receive your deposit.
If you reject the estimated charge and you wish to challenge the special
service charge, you have a right to challenge the decision. At your
option, you may either institute a proceeding in the Superior Court of New
Jersey or file a complaint with the Government Records Council (GRC) by
completing the Denial of Access Complaint Form. You may contact the GRC
by toll-free telephone at 866-850-0511, by mail at P.O. Box 819, Trenton,
NJ, 08625, by e-mail at [email address], or at their web site at
www.state.nj.us/grc. The GRC can also answer other questions about the
law. All questions regarding complaints filed in Superior Court should be
directed to the Court Clerk in your County.
References
Visible links
1. https://url4102.request.justfoia.com/ls/...
The Township of Lakewood received your Open Public Records Act (OPRA)
request on 3/30/2026. The Township had requested confirmation/denial of a
special service fee on 4/7/2026. As such, the seven (7) business day
deadline to respond to your request is 4/16/2026. This response to your
request is being provided to you on the 7TH business day after the
custodian's receipt of said request.
The Township sent a special service fee on 4/7/2026 and have yet to
receive a response. At this time, your OPRA request is deemed concluded
since we did not receive the requested clarification.
If you are still seeking additional records, please re-submit with the
requested information.
If your request for access to a government record has been denied or
unfilled within the seven (7) business days required by law, you have a
right to challenge the decision by the Township of Lakewood to deny
access. At your option, you may either institute a proceeding in the
Superior Court of New Jersey or file a complaint with the Government
Records Council (GRC) by completing the Denial of Access Complaint Form.
You may contact the GRC by toll-free telephone at 866-850-0511, by mail at
P.O. Box 819, Trenton, NJ, 08625, by e-mail at [email address], or at
their web site at www.state.nj.us/grc. The GRC can also answer other
questions about the law. All questions regarding complaints filed in
Superior Court should be directed to the Court Clerk in your County.
