Vehicle Pursuits/Refusal to Stop
To whom it may concern,
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. This request is among a batch of similar requests made. I request the following records:
- Incident Detail/CAD Reports for instances in which a vehicle pursuit was initiated by your agency from 1/1/2024 to 8/1/2025
- Incident Detail/CAD Reports for instances in which a vehicle refused to stop, but a pursuit was NOT initiated from 1/1/2024 to 8/1/2025
I HAVE NOT been convicted of any indictable offense in New Jersey, any other state, or the United States.
I will NOT be using these records for any monetary gain or commercial purpose.
I am NOT seeking these records due to a legal proceeding.
I would like for these records to be delivered 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,
Mr. J. Buford
Dear J. Buford,
This comes in response to your OPRA Request received 8/4 for:
“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. This request is
among a batch of similar requests made. I request the following records:
- Incident Detail/CAD Reports for instances in which a vehicle pursuit was
initiated by your agency from 1/1/2024 to 8/1/2025
- Incident Detail/CAD Reports for instances in which a vehicle refused to
stop, but a pursuit was NOT initiated from 1/1/2024 to 8/1/2025”
We are requesting an extension of 7 business days to August 22, 2025, to
respond as the Borough is still searching its files for responsive
documents. The Borough will respond to you the date provided.
If your request seeks information or asks questions and does not identify
specific government records, same is not a valid OPRA request. When a
request is “complex” because it fails to specifically identify the
documents sought, then that request is not “encompassed” by OPRA. See New
Jersey Builders Association v. New Jersey Council on Affordable Housing,
390 N.J.Super. 166, 180 (App. Div. 2007). 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. See Bent v. Stafford Police Department, 381
N.J.Super. 30, 37 (App. Div. 2005). Custodians are not required to
conduct research or create new records in response to an OPRA request.
Regards,
Casey Kimmel, RMC
Borough Clerk
Borough of Wallington
(973) 777-0318 ext. 201
[1][email address]
The content of this email is confidential and is intended for the sole use
of the recipient specified in this message and may contain confidential
and/or privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure
or distribution is strictly prohibited. If you are not the intended
recipient, please contact the sender via email, phone or fax and destroy
all copies of the original message.
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
Dear Casey Kimmel,
No worries, I absolutely understand the need for an extension. No rush, take your time with the request, it is far from urgent. Thank you for all that you do, and I appreciate you reaching out to inform me! Enjoy this wonderful day!
Yours sincerely,
Jimmy
Dear J. Buford,
Thank you for your patience in awaiting this reply. Please find the attached records and Vaughn Index provided by the Police Department in response to your request for:
"Incident Detail/CAD Reports for instances in which a vehicle pursuit was initiated by your agency from 1/1/2024 to 8/1/2025"
Your request for "Incident Detail/CAD Reports for instances in which a vehicle refused to stop, but a pursuit was NOT initiated from 1/1/2024 to 8/1/2025" is too broad and would require research to determine which document(s) exist. The Custodian of Records is not supposed to perform research to determine which documents exist, but rather to make available to a requestor specific record(s) that have been identified by the requestor. The Police Department advised that they have to research every "MVSTOP to see what happen". As they do not have the ability to search for a non-initiated pursuit.
For any additional questions or information, please contact the email or phone number listed below.
Regards,
Casey Kimmel, RMC
Borough Clerk
Borough of Wallington
(973) 777-0318 ext. 201
[email address]
The content of this email is confidential and is intended for the sole use of the recipient specified in this message and may contain confidential and/or privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is strictly prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender via email, phone or fax and destroy all copies of the original message.