Dear Ms. Taeho,

The Borough of Ogdensburg received your written OPRA request via e-mail on Wednesday, May 27, 2020 wherein you requested the following:

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 in above.

With respect to Item 1, please be advised that an OPRA request, by definition, must seek a specific government record. OPRA creates no obligation on the public entity to create new records that do not already exist. Further, courts have routinely denied OPRA requests that seek only information, as opposed to a specific government record. In Item 1, you requested a “list” of “all lawsuits” in which “any officer of the police department was involved” for a seven year period. In addition to the foregoing, you request specific case information. In response to this Item, there is no such list in the Borough’s custody or control that summarizes the information that you seek. Since no document responsive to Item 1 exists, this Item is now closed.

With respect to Item 2, please be advised that your request, as presented is vague and overly broad. Specifically, your request fails to identify with reasonable clarity the specific government records sought as is required by Bent v. Stafford Police Department, 381 N.J. Super. 30, 37 (App. Div. 2005). You seek “complaints” of “all lawsuits” in which “any officer of the police department was involved” for a seven year period. There are numerous ways a police officer can be “involved” in a case, either directly (a named party) or indirectly (a witness). Before conducting a search for any responsive records, if any, and by way of further clarification, please advise if the cases you seek are limited to those in which a Borough police officer was a named defendant. Additionally, please advise if the “complaints” you seek are limited to those filed in the Superior Courts of the State of New Jersey and/or United States District Court, District of New Jersey. Once we receive clarification from you, we will endeavor to locate responsive records to the extent any exist.

Please respond in writing so that we may process your request. Failure to provide written clarification of your request will result in the closure of this OPRA request.

Very truly yours,

Robin Hough, RMC/CMR
Borough of Ogdensburg
14 Highland Ave
Ogdensburg, NJ 07439
973-827-3444 ext. 5

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Mr. Kim,
The Borough of Ogdensburg responded to your OPRA request in the email below; the Borough asked for clarification. If the Borough does not received clarification by Friday, August 14, 2020 this OPRA request will be closed.

If you have any questions call 973-827-3444 ext 5

Respectfully,
Robin Hough, RMC/CMR
Borough of Ogdensburg
14 Highland Ave
Ogdensburg, NJ 07439
973-827-3444 ext 5

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