Incident Reports (Assault & Resisting Arrest)
Dear Rowan University,
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: I am requesting copies of incident reports with narratives from August 1, 2024, to February 1, 2025, for:
Simple Assault / Aggravated Assault – N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1(a) (Simple Assault) and N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1(b) (Aggravated Assault)
Resisting Arrest (With or Without Force) – N.J.S.A. 2C:29-2
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,
Bill Gery
Hello,
Rowan is in receipt of your February 9, 2025, OPRA request. Rowan's response is due within seven (7) business days, which is February 19, 2025. I was advised that the employee who is working on this request is unable to complete it by the due date. As such, Rowan will require a one week extension until February 26, 2025 to provide its response.
I apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate your understanding. Please feel free to reach out to me to with any questions or concerns.
Thank you,
Arsinoe Feld, Esq
OPRA Coordinator
Office of General Counsel
Rowan University | 201 Mullica Hill Rd.| Glassboro, NJ 08028-1701
[email address] |856-256-5112
Hello,
Please accept this as Rowan’s response to your February 9, 2025, OPRA (below) request wherein you sought incident reports from August 1, 2024, to February 1, 2025, for:
1. Simple Assault / Aggravated Assault – N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1(a) (Simple Assault) and N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1(b) (Aggravated Assault)
2. Resisting Arrest (With or Without Force) – N.J.S.A. 2C:29-2
According to the prosecutor’s office, there are cases with these charges that are currently under investigation by their office. Under N.J.S.A. 47:1A-3.a, records pertaining to ongoing investigations are exempted from disclosure under OPRA.
In addition to the above, incident reports related to crimes are records which fall under OPRA's criminal investigation exemption. As such, all of the requested incident reports, even those with the prosecutor's office, are also exempted from disclosure under OPRA. N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1.1(5) and N. Jersey Media Grp., Inc. v. Twp of Lyndhurst, 229 NJ 541 (2017).
Your request is denied under the common law for the following reason(s):The common law right to access public records depends on three requirements: (I) the records must be common law public documents; (2) the person seeking access must establish an interest in the subject matter of the material; and (3) the citizen's right to access must be balanced against the State's interest in preventing disclosure. Richard Rivera v. Union County Prosecutor's Office, 250 N.J. 124, 143-44 (2022); South Jersey Publishing Co. v. New Jersey Expressway Auth., 124 N.J. 478,487 (1991). Your common law request is denied due to your failure to identify your interest in the requested records.
Since your OPRA request for access to a government records has been denied, you have the right to challenge the decision by Rowan University. You can file a Complaint in the Superior Court of New Jersey or complete a Denial of Access Complaint Form with the Government Records Council (GRC). You can contact the GRC at 866-850-0511; or by mail at P.O. Box 819, Trenton, NJ 08625; or via email at [email address]; or through its website at http://www.state.nj.us/grc.
This is a full response to your OPRA request and Rowan will close this request unless you advise otherwise.
If you have any questions and/or would like to discuss this matter further, please do not hesitate to reach out to me at any time.
Thank you,
Arsinoe Feld, Esq
OPRA Coordinator
Office of General Counsel
Rowan University | 201 Mullica Hill Rd.| Glassboro, NJ 08028-1701
[email address] |856-256-5112