OPRA Request For Bodycam Footage & Incident Reports
Hello,
Under penalty of NJSA 2C-28-3.1 I certify that I, Keith Moreno of Houston, Texas, have not been convicted of any indictable offense under the laws of New Jersey, any other state, or the United States.
Under the New Jersey Open Public Records Act, N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq., I am requesting an opportunity to obtain all body-cam footage, dash-cam footage from police vehicles, and any incident reports pertaining to Incident #2025-02269 on 1/24/2025 involving officer Bradley Ellmann UOF25-1-1 and a 22-year-old White male suspect.
If multiple officers with active BWC responded to this incident, I would appreciate footage POVs of a primary and secondary arresting officer. I apologize for not being able to provide you with the arrestee's name, or the time and location of the incident. I hope the information provided will nonetheless be enough to retrieve these records.
These records are not being sought for commercial purposes or legal purposes. I'm extremely grateful for all of your assistance in this matter. Please don't hesitate to contact me via email if there is additional information you require from me, or to provide me with digital access to the records: [email address]
If you deny any or all of this request, please cite each specific exemption you feel justifies the refusal to release the information and notify me of the appeal procedures available to me under the law.
Thank you and best regards,
Signed,
Keith Moreno
8917 S Gessner Dr
Houston, Texas 77074
(281) 496-1588
Received.
Thank you
Dena Dziergoski
Acting Clerk / CMR
Chester Borough
50 North Rd.
Chester, NJ 07930
908-879-3660 Ext. 2129
Good afternoon Mr. Moreno,
This agency is in receipt of your OPRA request submitted to Chester Borough dated 3/24/25.
Please be advised that access to incident reports related to 25-02269 & body worn camera footage, that you have requested, is denied as the investigation into this matter is considered open and ongoing. The New Jersey Supreme Court has concluded that early disclosure of records containing details of the incident “will often be “inimical to the public interest””, and thus, would be an impediment to the state’s constitutional obligation to investigate and prosecute responsible parties for their alleged criminal conduct. N.J.S.A. 47:1A-3. North Jersey Media Group, Inc. v. Twp. Of Lyndhurst, 229 N.J. 541, 574 (citing N.J.S.A. 47:1A-3).
In addition, access to body worn camera footage is denied at this time as the matter involves the arrest and prosecution of a juvenile offender, of which OPRA restricts access to the body worn camera footage.
You may contact the GRC at 866-850-0511, by email [email address] or via their website at www.nj.gov/grc to file an appeal.
Denise Riley
Administrative Assistant to the Chief of Police & Records Administrator
Chester Police Department
1 Parker Road
Chester, NJ 07930
p: (908)-879-5100 x871
f: (908)-879-8083
The information contained in this message and any attachment may be proprietary, confidential, and privileged or subject to the work product from disclosure. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, or an employee or agent responsible for delivering this message to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited.
If you have received this communication in error, please notify me immediately by replying to this message and deleting it and all copies and backups thereof.