Request Number W219163 - Follow Up
Dear New Jersey State Police,
I am following up on my previous request, Number W219163, that you have closed. I spoke to an officer this morning who stated that a response was emailed to me on June 20th, but I never received the same and verified. He forwarded to me the OPRA response from Trooper I Patrick McManus that states, "A search was conducted for body camera footage, and no responsive records were located..."
I represent individuals in one of the vehicles involved and it seems that the investigating officer did not account for their version of the accident as he could not communicate with my clients - further, he did not list an individual who was within one of the vehicles on the report and they were the person that called to report the accident in the first place.
Please provide me with dash camera footage and audio available from the investigation or any and all of the investigating officer's internal report or hand written notes regarding the same.
Thank you kindly for your attention to this matter. Best,
Joseph A. Percario, Esq.
Sir,
As per our conversation on the phone, you have to submit a new request.
We cannot receive email requests. Please see below.
Please be advised that pursuant to regulation, N.J.A.C. 13:1E-2, and
long-standing policy and practice of the Department of Law and Public
Safety (L&PS), submission of OPRA requests by facsimile transmission or
e-mail is not permitted.
N.J.A.C. 13:1E-2.4(a) states: “Written Open Public Records Act (OPRA)
requests shall be hand-delivered during normal business hours of the
public agency, mailed or submitted electronically to the appropriate
division or agency custodian of records over the Internet by means of a
web-enabled OPRA request form, which can be found on the Department of Law
and Public Safety OPRA website, [1]www.state.nj.us/lps/opra. Submission of
requests by facsimile transmission or e-mail is not permitted.”
N.J.A.C. 13:1E-2.4(b) provides, in part: “Only the appropriate division or
agency custodian of the record requested is authorized to accept receipt
of an OPRA request on behalf of that division or agency.”
This restriction is supported by New Jersey case law. In 2009, the
Appellate Division stated in Renna v. County of Union, 407 N.J. Super. 230
(App. Div. 2009), “the primary objective of the statutory construct is
that the requester set forth in writing, and in a cogent and clear manner,
the nature of the request and the other information required by N.J.S.A.
47:1A-5(f).” On the same day, the Appellate Division held in Paff v. City
of East Orange, 407 N.J. Super. 221 (App. Div. 2009):
“We conclude that the authority N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5 (f) (1) confers upon a
custodian of government records to adopt a form for requesting access to a
government record, which includes ‘specific directions and procedures for
requesting a record,’ authorizes a custodian to direct that a request for
a government record must be transmitted only by methods specified in the
form, which need not include every method of transmission mentioned in
N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5(g).”
The records request form for the Department of Law and Public Safety, in
relevant part, states:
1. State Law requires that in order to request access to government
records, you must complete, sign and date a written request for access and
deliver it in person or by mail during regular business hours to the
appropriate custodian of the record requested. You may also complete and
submit a web enabled version of this request form at [2]www.nj.gov/opra.
L&PS will not accept submission of a written request for access by fax or
email. Your request is not considered filed until the written request has
been received by the appropriate custodian of the record requested.
2. If you 1) submit a request for access to government records to someone
other than the appropriate custodian; or 2) do not complete a written
request containing the information required in this form; or 3) make a
request for access by telephone, email or fax, the Open Public Records Act
and its deadlines, restrictions and remedies will not apply to your
request.
For these reasons, I am not able to accept your recent e-mail to the
Division of State Police as a valid OPRA request.
You can file an OPRA request on-line with the Division of State Police
using the Online Request Form found at either the State Police website or
the Department of Law and Public Safety OPRA website
[3]www.state.nj.us/lps/opra. or
[4]https://www-njlib.state.nj.us/NJ_OPRA/de...
The online OPRA request process was designed for the ease and convenience
of requesters. You are not required to submit an OPRA request by using the
online or paper OPRA request form. However, you are required to submit
OPRA requests in writing. Should you choose to submit a written OPRA
request, please be sure to mail it to the appropriate division records
custodian.
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
From: Joseph A. Percario, Esq.
<[OPRA #63964 email]>
Sent: Thursday, July 25, 2024 10:16 AM
To: NJSP OPRA <[email address]>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] OPRA request - Request Number W219163 - Follow Up
*** CAUTION *** This message came from an EXTERNAL address
([email address]).
DO NOT click on links or attachments unless you know the sender and the
content is safe. New Jersey State Government Employees Should Forward
Messages That May Be Cyber Security Risks To [email address].
Dear New Jersey State Police,
I am following up on my previous request, Number W219163, that you have
closed. I spoke to an officer this morning who stated that a response was
emailed to me on June 20th, but I never received the same and verified.
He forwarded to me the OPRA response from Trooper I Patrick McManus that
states, "A search was conducted for body camera footage, and no responsive
records were located..."
I represent individuals in one of the vehicles involved and it seems that
the investigating officer did not account for their version of the
accident as he could not communicate with my clients - further, he did not
list an individual who was within one of the vehicles on the report and
they were the person that called to report the accident in the first
place.
Please provide me with dash camera footage and audio available from the
investigation or any and all of the investigating officer's internal
report or hand written notes regarding the same.
Thank you kindly for your attention to this matter. Best,
Joseph A. Percario, Esq.
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Please deliver records electronically via email to the below UNIQUE
address for all replies to this request:
[OPRA #63964 email]
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