OPRA: police officer-involved lawsuits 2012-2019
Dear Randolph 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:
1. A list of all lawsuits and cases in which any officer of the police department was involved between 2012 and 2019. For each lawsuit/case, please provide the date (month and year) of the alleged incident at issue, whether the alleged incident was excessive force, settlement amount (if any), and final compensation amount ruled (if any).
2. Please provide copies of the complaint in any lawsuits and cases described above.
Yours faithfully,
UC Research
Dear Kim Taeho:
Your request seeking lawsuits and cases in which any officer “was
involved” is vague and fails to identify with specificity or particularity
the precise categories of government records sought, and requires the
records custodian to conduct research to identify responsive records and,
thus, is invalid as drafted. See Bent v. Twp. of Stafford Police Dep't.,
381 N.J. Super. 30, 37 (App. Div. 2005) (“a proper request under OPRA must
identify with reasonable clarity those documents that are desired, and a
party cannot satisfy this requirement by simply requesting all of an
agency's documents”); Lagerkvist v. Office of Governor of State, 443 N.J.
Super. 230, 237 (App. Div. 2015) (OPRA does not require that “the
custodian ‘conduct research among its records ... and correlate data from
various government records in the custodian's possession.’”). An officer
may be “involved” in both criminal and civil lawsuits/cases in a countless
number of ways (transporting witnesses, providing testimony, etc.).
Accordingly, please clarify whether you are seeking information/records
regarding civil lawsuits filed against Township police officers. To the
extent you are seeking this information, please additionally specify
whether you are seeking information/records for particular types of
lawsuits.
Sincerely,
Lt. Jeffrey Gomez
Randolph Twp Police Department
502 Millbrook Avenue
Randolph NJ 07869
973-989-7013
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June 1, 2020
Dear Kim Taeho/Eric K
[1][email address]
We write in response to your Open Public Records Act request received May
28, 2020 for all Use of Force reports completed by the police department
from January 1st 2017 to December 31st, 2019. The Township responds as
follows to your OPRA request:
Responsive use of force reports are attached. The following redactions
have been made to the reports:
• Names of individuals whose medical information/psychiatric condition
appear on the use of force reports. See N.J.S.A.47:1A-1; Executive Order
26 (“Information relating to medical, psychiatric or psychological
history, diagnosis, treatment or evaluation” is not subject to public
access).
• Names of minors/juveniles. See Digital First Media v. Ewing Twp.,
No. A-5779-17T2, 2020 WL 808390 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. Feb. 19, 2020)
(permitting juvenile Use of Force reports must be released under OPRA,
with redactions made to the minors’ names).
Lt. Jeffrey Gomez
Randolph Twp Police Department
502 Millbrook Avenue
Randolph NJ 07869
973-989-7013
Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail transmission may contain confidential
or legally privileged information that is intended only for the individual
or entity named in the e-mail address. If you are not the intended
recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying,
distribution, or reliance upon the contents of this e-mail is strictly
prohibited. If you have received this e-mail transmission in error, please
reply to the sender, so that we can arrange for proper delivery, and then
please delete the message from your Inbox. Thank you.
References
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1. mailto:[email address]
Dear Kim Taeho/Necon,
Please find attached your requested OPRA record for Payroll record
2012-2019 in the police department.
Lt. Jeffrey Gomez
Randolph Twp Police Department
502 Millbrook Avenue
Randolph NJ 07869
973-989-7013
Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail transmission may contain confidential
or legally privileged information that is intended only for the individual
or entity named in the e-mail address. If you are not the intended
recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying,
distribution, or reliance upon the contents of this e-mail is strictly
prohibited. If you have received this e-mail transmission in error, please
reply to the sender, so that we can arrange for proper delivery, and then
please delete the message from your Inbox. Thank you.