Traffic light footage for accident
Dear Garfield City,
Please accept this electronic request for public records made under OPRA and the common law right of access. I am not required to fill out an official form or use a particular software platform to submit my request per NJSA 47:1A-6(f), which states that an email from a requestor including all of the information required on the adopted form shall suffice in place of a completed form as a valid government record request.
I HAVE NOT been convicted of any indictable offense under the laws of New Jersey, any other state, or the United States.
I WILL NOT use the requested government records for a commercial purpose.
I AM NOT seeking records in connection with a legal proceeding.
Records requested:
Traffic light footage from vanwinkle and pallasades avenue from 11:00-11:30. I was involved in an accident due to a vehicle cutting me off and driving abruptly ending up in my hitting a parked car. The BMW that caused the accident fled the scene and later came back approximately 30-40 minutes later. Could you also release the body cam footage as well. Thanks
My preferred delivery method for response(s) to this request is by E-mail as attachments. Please confirm you have received this request. If you are not the custodian of records, please forward my request to that person and provide their email address to me for future reference.
Yours faithfully,
Gregory Zappia
City of Garfield
Open Records Request
Reference # OPRA-2025-00309
Date Entered: 3/10/2025 3:09:36 PM
Dear GREGORY ZAPPIA,
This email is to confirm receipt of your Open Public Records Act (OPRA)
request.
The Custodian of Records received your request on 03/10/2025. As such, the
seven (7) business day deadline to respond to your request is 03/20/2025.
The request seeks access to the following records:
Traffic light footage from vanwinkle and pallasades avenue from
11:00-11:30. I was involved in an accident due to a vehicle cutting me off
and driving abruptly ending up in my hitting a parked car. The BMW that
caused the accident fled the scene and later came back approximately 30-40
minutes later. Could you also release the body cam footage as well. Thanks
If your request for access to a government record has been denied or
unfilled within the seven (7) business days required by law, you have a
right to challenge the decision to deny access. At your option, you may
either institute a proceeding in the Superior Court of New Jersey or file
a complaint with the Government Records Council (GRC) by completing the
Denial of Access Complaint Form. You may contact the GRC by toll-free
telephone at 866-850-0511, by mail at P.O. Box 819, Trenton, NJ, 08625, by
e-mail at [email address], or at their web site at
www.state.nj.us/grc. The GRC can also answer other questions about the
law. All questions regarding complaints filed in Superior Court should be
directed to the Court Clerk in your County.
Please do not reply directly to this email; this address is not monitored.
If you have any questions please feel free to contact us.
Sincerely,
City of Garfield
City of Garfield
Open Records Request
Reference # OPRA-2025-00309
Date Entered: 3/10/2025 3:09:36 PM
Dear GREGORY ZAPPIA,
Please note the following comment by Brian Porco on 3/10/2025 3:08:00 PM:
Clarification needed. Please provide the exact date of the incident and/or
a case number. Thank you.
Sincerely,
City of Garfield
Clarification needed. Please provide the exact date of the incident and/or
a case number. Thank you.Clarification needed. Please provide the exact
date of the incident and/or a case number. Thank you.
Dear Gergory Zappia,
Clarification is needed to further process this request.
Please provide the exact date of the incident and/or a case number. You
only provided a time frame and location in your request. Thank you.
[1]GPD Patch
DSgt. Brian Porco #207
Firearms Division - Records Division
Garfield Police Department
411 Midland Avenue
Garfield, NJ 07026
Phone: 973-478-8500 ext.4170
Fax: 973-327-6575
E-Mail: [2][email address]
References
Visible links
2. mailto:[email address]
Dear Brian Porco,
Case number: 25-006492
The incident happened on 3/8/2025. Around 11:30am. I was requesting for traffic footage from 11:00-11:30 previously but if I could extend that to 12:30pm please.
Yours sincerely,
Gregory Zappia
City of Garfield
Open Records Request
Reference # OPRA-2025-00309
Date Entered: 3/10/2025 3:09:00 PM
Dear GREGORY ZAPPIA,
Please note the following comment by Brian Porco on 3/14/2025 9:54:00 AM:
Dear Gregory Zappia,
Upon review of your OPRA request (OPRA-2025-00309) that was submitted
on 03/10/2025 with a due date of 03/20/2025, three (3) Video Files of
Officer’s Body Worn Camera Footage containing approximately 77 Minutes of
footage were located. Due to the amount of footage, The City is exercising
its right to implement a “special service charge” pursuant to N.J.S.A.
47:1A-5(c). As such, you will be charged a special service charge of
$105.00 if you still wish to receive the responsive documents.
Please contact the Garfield Police Records Division at 973-478-8500
ext. 5050 or at [email address] to arrange this payment
for your request, or with any questions in regard to this request. Thank
you.
Sincerely,
City of Garfield
Dear Gregory Zappia,Dear Gregory Zappia,
Dear Gregory Zappia,
Upon review of your OPRA request (OPRA-2025-00309) that was submitted on 03/10/2025 with a due date of 03/20/2025, three (3) Video Files of Officer’s Body Worn Camera Footage containing approximately 77 Minutes of footage were located. Due to the amount of footage, The City is exercising its right to implement a “special service charge” pursuant to N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5(c). Accommodating your request will require an “extraordinary expense of time and effort” of City resources. If you still wish to receive the responsive records, the City will be charging you the City’s estimated cost of our employees’ time expended in fulfilling your OPRA request. The City estimates that DSgt. Brian Porco will expend 77 minutes in compiling and preparing the responsive materials for production. DSgt. Brian Porco’s hourly wage is $81.85, and thus we estimate that the charge for DSgt. Brian Porco’s time is $105.00. As such, you will be charged a special service charge of $105.00 if you still wish to receive the responsive documents. In Addition, there were no responsive records for any Video Surveillance Footage.
The breakdown of this BWC Footage is as follows:
1. BWC – P.O. Doud – 36 Minutes 2 Seconds
2. BWC – P.O. Otero – 2 Minutes 49 Seconds
3. BWC – P.O. Arangelov – 39 Minutes 1 Second
The breakdown of this special service charge is as follows:
Hourly rate of lowest paid individual capable of fulfilling the request: $81.85
Amount of time required to fulfill the request: Minutes 77
Total: $105.00
I am also requesting a 7-day extension from when the required fee is received to fully complete your request.
Please contact the Garfield Police Records Division at 973-478-8500 ext. 5050 or at [email address] to arrange this payment for your request, or with any questions in regard to this request. Thank you.
DSgt. Brian Porco #207
Firearms Division - Records Division
Garfield Police Department
411 Midland Avenue
Garfield, NJ 07026
Phone: 973-478-8500 ext.4170
Fax: 973-327-6575
E-Mail: [email address]
City of Garfield
Open Records Request
Reference # OPRA-2025-00309
Date Entered: 3/10/2025 3:09:00 PM
Dear GREGORY ZAPPIA,
Please note the following comment by Nicolas Santillo on 3/20/2025 2:30:00
PM:
Mr, Zappia,
Your request for surveillance footage is completed and there is a $5.00
fee for the requested material. We are unable to send the video via email,
as it is over the allowable size to send through email. Please respond to
the Garfield Police Department to render payment, cash or check accepted.
The office hours are Monday - Wednesday 8:30am-5pm and Thursday from
8:30am-5:30pm. Call 973-478-8500 x 5050 with any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
City of Garfield
Mr, Zappia, Mr, Zappia,
Mr, Zappia,
Your request for surveillance footage is completed and there is a $5.00 fee for the requested material. We are unable to send the video via email, as it is over the allowable size to send through email. Please respond to the Garfield Police Department to render payment, cash or check accepted. The office hours are Monday - Wednesday 8:30am-5pm and Thursday from 8:30am-5:30pm. Call 973-478-8500 x 5050 with any questions or concerns.
Lt. Santillo
Lt. Nicolas Santillo #204
Garfield Police Department
Records Division Commander
411 Midland Avenue
Garfield, NJ 07026
973-478-8500 x4169
F-973-327-6575
City of Garfield
Open Records Request
Reference # OPRA-2025-00309
Date Entered: 3/10/2025 3:09:00 PM
Dear GREGORY ZAPPIA,
Your Open Public Records Act (OPRA) has been Fulfilled on 03/10/2025.
The request sought access to the following records:
Traffic light footage from vanwinkle and pallasades avenue from
11:00-11:30. I was involved in an accident due to a vehicle cutting me off
and driving abruptly ending up in my hitting a parked car. The BMW that
caused the accident fled the scene and later came back approximately 30-40
minutes later. Could you also release the body cam footage as well. Thanks
The records are being transmitted to you via . Pursuant to N.J.S.A.
47:1A-5.b. the cost associated with this request is $0.00.
Please do not reply directly to this email; this address is not monitored.
If you have any questions please feel free to contact us.
Sincerely,
City of Garfield
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Please download these attachments from the links below:
• [1]6f9acd7d-22025553652_OPRA_Special_Service_Charge_Notice.pdf
References
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1. http://url2645.govpilot.com/ls/click?upn...
City of Garfield
Open Records Request
Reference # OPRA-2025-00309
Date Entered: 3/10/2025 3:09:00 PM
Dear GREGORY ZAPPIA,
Your Open Public Records Act (OPRA) has been Fulfilled on 03/10/2025.
The request sought access to the following records:
Traffic light footage from vanwinkle and pallasades avenue from
11:00-11:30. I was involved in an accident due to a vehicle cutting me off
and driving abruptly ending up in my hitting a parked car. The BMW that
caused the accident fled the scene and later came back approximately 30-40
minutes later. Could you also release the body cam footage as well. Thanks
The records are being transmitted to you via . Pursuant to N.J.S.A.
47:1A-5.b. the cost associated with this request is $0.00.
Please do not reply directly to this email; this address is not monitored.
If you have any questions please feel free to contact us.
Sincerely,
City of Garfield
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Please download these attachments from the links below:
• [1]1b362e8b-42025553652_OPRA_Special_Service_Charge_Notice.pdf
References
Visible links
1. http://url2645.govpilot.com/ls/click?upn...