Internal Affairs Summary Reports - Major Discipline Reports and and related Transmittal letters for Detective Frank Mena
Dear North Bergen 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-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:
On March 14, 2022, the New Jersey Supreme Court unanimously held that internal affairs investigations are not protected under the common law right of access and, therefore, cannot be withheld based on confidentiality in certain circumstances. In Rivera v. Union County Prosecutor’s Office (A-58-20), So I am requesting
Detective Mena's Internal Affairs disposition for handcuffing a child to a radiator
Detective Mena's Internal Affairs disposition for unauthorized usage of a Township Police Vehicle to take his daughter to the airport. Therefore parking the vehicle in a no parking zone and escorting his daughter forcefully to the front of the TSA security line.
It is well known that Det. Mena was forced to retire disgracefully after this second racist rant in regards to his disgusting comments about a fellow Officers sexual orientation - what is the disposition of the internal?
Det. Mena is said to have been guilty ( sustained ) in regards to two separate incidents where he made disparaging and offensive racist remarks to North Bergen Police Officers who are of Arabic heritage. One of those incidents occurring in front of an attorney from the Attorney Generals Office who was giving a class - what was the disposition of this case ?
What was the disposition of the case involving two North Bergen Arabic Police Officers which he was said to be found guilty of all charges this past month ?
Detective Frank Mena was also accused of masturbating in a police vehicle where evidence was collected showing he had looked up pornography for two hours on a Dept, computer. A disgusting act from a disgusting man. What was the disposition of this case ?
Are there more cases involving Det. Mena masturbating at work or was this an isolated incident ?
Detective Mena was known to shake down every single vendor all up and down North Bergen , have their been any complaints from these vendors ?
Frank Mena is a disgusting a person on the inside as he is on the outside. I applaud the township for forcing this racist pervert to retire in disgrace. Thank you.
Your Truly,
NB free from Racism
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,
NB free from Racism
Good Afternoon,
The Township of North Bergen (the “Township”) received your request dated 9/18/2024 under the New Jersey Open Public Records Act (“OPRA”), N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq, and the common law right of access. Your request was as follows:
On March 14, 2022, the New Jersey Supreme Court unanimously held that internal affairs investigations are not protected under the common law right of access and, therefore, cannot be withheld based on confidentiality in certain circumstances. In Rivera v. Union County Prosecutor’s Office (A-58-20), So I am requesting
Detective Mena's Internal Affairs disposition for handcuffing a child to a radiator
Detective Mena's Internal Affairs disposition for unauthorized usage of a Township Police Vehicle to take his daughter to the airport. Therefore parking the vehicle in a no parking zone and escorting his daughter forcefully to the front of the TSA security line.
It is well known that Det. Mena was forced to retire disgracefully after this second racist rant in regards to his disgusting comments about a fellow Officers sexual orientation - what is the disposition of the internal?
Det. Mena is said to have been guilty ( sustained ) in regards to two separate incidents where he made disparaging and offensive racist remarks to North Bergen Police Officers who are of Arabic heritage. One of those incidents occurring in front of an attorney from the Attorney Generals Office who was giving a class - what was the disposition of this case ?
What was the disposition of the case involving two North Bergen Arabic Police Officers which he was said to be found guilty of all charges this past month ?
Detective Frank Mena was also accused of masturbating in a police vehicle where evidence was collected showing he had looked up pornography for two hours on a Dept, computer. A disgusting act from a disgusting man. What was the disposition of this case ?
Are there more cases involving Det. Mena masturbating at work or was this an isolated incident ?
Detective Mena was known to shake down every single vendor all up and down North Bergen , have their been any complaints from these vendors?
The Township responds:
Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 47:1A5(g) requests for information or requests that ask questions are not valid OPRA requests. OPRA applies to requests for records, not requests for isolated facts. A valid OPRA request must seek specific, identifiable records. MAG Entm’t, LLC v. Div. of Alcohol Beverage Control, 375 N.J. Super. 534 (App. Div. 2005); Bent v. Stafford Police Dept., 381 N.J. Super. 30 (App. Div. 2005).
The nature and source of internal allegations, the progress of internal affairs investigations, and the resulting materials are confidential information. Your request must be denied under OPRA pursuant to N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1, N.J.S.A. 47:1A-9 (N.J.A.C. 13:1E-3.2 and section 9.6.1 of the New Jersey Attorney General Directive 2020-7, Internal Affairs Policy and Procedures).
You requested the same records under the common law. Unlike with OPRA, the burden to show that access to common law public records should be permitted lies with the requestor. “The common-law right to access public records depends on three requirements: (1) 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.” Keddie v. Rutgers, 148 N.J. 36, 50, 689 A.2d 702, 709 (1997) (internal citations omitted). You have neither established that the records you seek are common-law public documents, identified an interest in the subject matter of such records, nor set forth how your need for disclosure outweighs the State’s clearly expressed, strong public policy interest in preventing such disclosure. Accordingly, your request is denied under common law.
As with any OPRA request, you have the right to challenge the decision by the Township in regards to your request. 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 PO Box 819, Trenton, NJ 08625, by e-mail at [email address] or at their web site at https://www.nj.gov/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 the County in which you reside.
Thank you.
Erin Barillas, RMC
Township Clerk
Township of North Bergen
4233 Kennedy Blvd
North Bergen, NJ 07047
e: [North Bergen Township request email]
o: 201-392-2024
f: 201-330-7694
www.northbergen.org