Dear South River Borough,

This is a request for public records made under OPRA and the common law right of access. I am not required to fill out an official form. Please acknowledge receipt of this message.
Records requested:

I am requesting assistance from OPRA to explain to me in "specific detail" why I am not allowed to get access to my case discovery. Please review the e-mail I received on 2/7/23, from A/Lt. John Kenny, who informed me that the discovery of MY case was "confidential". A/Lt John Kenny had copied some statutes in his e-mail that were very confusing. I would appreciate some clarification on how these statutes pertain to me and my case and how it affects me not being able to get access to my discovery.

(Please see below)

Ms. Scaletti,

In response to your email regarding why discovery is unavailable to you I refer you to the New Jersey Attorney General Guidelines Internal Affairs Policy & Procedures Section 9.6. See below:

9.6 Confidentiality

9.6.1 The nature and source of internal allegations, the progress of internal affairs investigations,

and the resulting materials are confidential information and remain exempt from access

under the New Jersey Open Public Records Act, N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1.1 to -13. The contents of

an internal investigation case file, including the original complaint, shall be retained in the

internal affairs function and clearly marked as confidential. The information and records of

an internal investigation shall only be released or shared under the following limited

circumstances:

INTERNAL AFFAIRS POLICY & PROCEDURES | November 2022 57

(a) If administrative charges have been brought against an officer and a hearing will be

held, a copy of all discoverable materials shall be provided to the officer and the

hearing officer before the hearing;

(b) If the subject officer, agency or governing jurisdiction has been named as a defendant

in a lawsuit arising out of the specific incident covered by an internal investigation, a

copy of the internal investigative reports may be released to the attorney representing

the subject officer, agency or jurisdiction;

(c) Upon the request or at the direction of the County Prosecutor or Attorney General;

(d) Upon a court order; or

(e) Upon a request from the Division of Pensions, following an officer’s application for a

retirement allowance.

I hope this explains to you why I can not provide discovery for the information you requested.
a/Lieutenant John Kenney

Detective Bureau
South River Police Department
61 Main Street, South River NJ 08882
732-254-9002 ext.106
[email address]

Yours faithfully,

Carolann Scaletti