Lieutenant Robert Ferreiro
Dear Warren Township,
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:
- Warren Police Department employee named Robert Ferreiro’s attendance records indicating days off, workings days, absences due to sick/vacation/other for the years of 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 to date;
- The current Rules and regulations of the Warren Police department;
- Warren Township Police Department policy governing outside employment for its members;
- All records held by the Township and/or the Warren Police Department in to its police officers attending any training seminars held by the “Street Cop” company from 2018-2023;
- All proof of payments made by the Township of Warren to the “Street cop” company from 2018-2023;
- All expenses (hotels/transportation) paid by the Township for officers of the Warren Township Police Department to attend seminar(s) held by the Street Cop company from 2018-2023;
Yours faithfully,
NJ OPRA SERVICES
Cathy Reese
Township Clerk
Township of Warren
46 Mountain Blvd.
Warren, NJ 07059
908-753-8000 ext. 223
Dear Anonymous,
We have been informed that Police Lt. Ferriero is currently the subject of
an active County Prosecutor's Office Internal Affairs Investigation. Under
current NJ case law, police internal affairs investigation documents are
not subject to public release under OPRA or the Common Law Right of
Access.
The Appellate Division in Rivera v. Union County Prosecutor's Office, 2020
N.J.Super. Unpub. LEXIS 1192 (App. Div. 2020), held that police internal
affairs ("IA") investigation file and report are exempt from
disclosure under OPRA. Id. at *23. The Appellate Division then reviewed
the release of IA records under the NJ Common Law Right of Access and
found the need for nondisclosure substantially outweighs the requestor's
need for disclosure of the IA records; specifically
that [1]Loigman factors one, two, and three militate strongly against
disclosure of IA records. Id. at *28. The Appellate Division concluded
that IA records were not subject to public release, even with redactions,
under OPRA or the Common Law Right of Access.
The Appellate Division further noted that pursuant to [2]N.J.S.A.
40A:14-181, guidelines can be adopted consistent with the IAPP that compel
the maintenance of confidentiality of the IA investigation and
report. Id. at *29. The holding that IA records are not subject to
release under OPRA was recently affirmed by the Appellate Division
in Gannett Satellite Info. Network, LLC v. Twp. of Neptune, 467 N.J.
Super. 385 (App. Div. 2021) in holding that IA records are personnel
records under OPRA, which are exempt from disclosure under [3]N.J.S.A.
47:1A-10; and that the[4] IAPP has the force of law and pursuant
to [5]N.J.S.A. 47:1A-9, OPRA may not abrogate the IAPP's confidentiality
provisions. See also Fraternal Order of Police, Newark Lodge Number 12 v.
City of Newark, 244 N.J. 75 (2020). In Gannett case, the Appellate
Division did release the IA records under the Common Law Right of Access
based on the unique facts of the case, including the fact that much of the
records were already publicly released thus there was little need for
confidentiality under the Loigman balancing factors.
Recently, in In re Atty. Gen. Law Enforcement Directives Nos. 2020-5 and
2020-6, 246 N.J. 462 (2021), the Supreme Court upheld the NJ Attorney
General directives calling for the release of the names of law enforcement
officers who committed disciplinary violations that resulted in the
imposition of major discipline, finding that the directives do not
conflict with OPRA. This recent Supreme Court decision does not overrule
or modify the prior decisions relating to the release of IA records under
OPRA, except to the extent that any IA record would fall under the new
Directives Nos. 2020-5 and 2020-6. Accordingly, unless the IA records
fall within the scope of Directives Nos. 2020-5 and 2020-6, or involve
very unique, extraordinary scenarios that would result in the release
under the Common Law Right of Access, then IA records are no subject to
public release under OPRA or the Common Law Right of Access.
The extension of time notification is an estimate, based on your request,
which involves several Township Departments. The Township of Warren
Custodian of Records desires to cooperate with your request and will
forward the information that is not exempt to you as its received in the
Clerk’s Office.
Sincerely,
Cathy Reese
Township Clerk
Township of Warren
46 Mountain Blvd.
Warren, NJ 07059
908-753-8000 ext. 223
December 13, 2023
Dear Anonymous
Your OPRA request was received on December 11, 2023 and processed within
our system and assigned to multiple departments.
We will deliver the information to you as we receive it from the
individual departments.
Cathy Reese
Township Clerk
Township of Warren
46 Mountain Blvd.
Warren, NJ 07059
908-753-8000 ext. 223
From: New Jersey OPRA Services <[1][email address]>
Sent: Thursday, December 14, 2023 1:30 PM
To: Reese, Cathy <[2][Warren Township request email]>
Cc: [3][email address]
Subject: RE: OPRA request dated 12/8/23
Dear Clerk,
We are in receipt of your response to our OPRA request made through
[4]opramachine.com.
As we understand the case law you referred to, not all of the records we
requested are subject to it. As part of our request we asked for the
Warren Township Police Department's Rules and Regulation as well and its
policy governing outside employment for its officers.
It would be hard to believe that those mentioned records are not available
to anyone else in the Warren Police Department due to an ongoing internal
affairs investigation. If it is available to other officers not involved
in the investigation then it is available to members of the public.
As you are aware, a request can not be denied in its entirety because some
of the records are not available or fall under some of the accepted
exemptions. Therefore, I urge you to reconsider your decision to deny the
entire request by possibly conferring with your legal counsel.
Also, as you are aware, the refusal to answer or purposely ignoring your
emails in reference to the OPRA requests and updates, will shine a
negative light on you and your jurisdiction when we file our complaint
with the GRC or in Superior Court, if you chose to refuse to release the
requested and available records that do not fall under any of the
exemptions.
Sincerely,
NJ OPRA Services.
Sent with [5]Proton Mail secure email.
Cathy Reese
Township Clerk
Township of Warren
46 Mountain Blvd.
Warren, NJ 07059
908-753-8000 ext. 223
Cathy Reese
Township Clerk
Township of Warren
46 Mountain Blvd.
Warren, NJ 07059
908-753-8000 ext. 223
Your OPRA request is now complete. Thank you for your patience.
Cathy Reese
Township Clerk
Township of Warren
46 Mountain Blvd.
Warren, NJ 07059
908-753-8000 ext. 223