Drone Documents (Alameda County Sheriff Department)

Shawn Musgrave filed this request with the Alameda County Sheriff's Office of Alameda County, CA.
Submitted Oct. 15, 2013
Status
Completed

Communications

From: Shawn Musgrave

Subject: None

None

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the California's Sunshine Amendment (Cal. Const. Art. I, § 3(b)), I hereby request the following records:

All documents created from January 2005 to the date this request is processed related to the agency's use of aerial drones, remotely piloted vehicles (RPVs), remotely piloted aircraft (RPAs), unmanned aerials (UAs), unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and/or unmanned aerial systems (UASs)(hereinafter “drones”).

Please search specifically for the below document categories, and respond to each of the categories and items:

1) Acquisition documents:

i) requests for proposals (RFPs), proposals/quotes submitted by vendors, contracts, leases, budget requests, project/equipment budgets, cost allocations or reimbursements for the purchase of drone equipment;

ii) Grant applications and award letters for drone equipment purchases;

iii) Insurance contracts for all drone equipment;

iv) Communications (including electronic communications) between the agency head or agency quartermaster (or individual responsible for equipment purchases and maintenance) and drone vendors, manufacturers or retailers;

v) Communications (including electronic communications) between the agency head and agency quartermaster (or individual responsible for equipment purchases and maintenance) regarding acquisition, lease or use of drone equipment;

vi) Communications (including electronic communications) between the agency head and the governor, mayor and city/town manager regarding the acquisition of drones;

vii) Applications (including all components and support documentation) for Certificates of Waiver/Authorization (COA) from the Federal Aviation Administration, as well as COA grant notifications and final agreement;

viii) Contracts for services related to drones, such as data storage, data analysis, image storage, image analysis, video storage, video analysis, operation, maintenance;

2) Equipment logs:

i) Inventories/logs/lists/databases of all drones owned, leased or operated by or for the agency;

ii) Maintenance logs for all drones owned, leased or otherwise operated by or for the agency;

3) Policy documents:

i) Policies, guidelines, protocols, manuals and/or instructions on the use/operation of drones and usage of data, images and video obtained from drone flights;

ii) Communications from the agency head, quartermaster (or individual responsible for overseeing equipment purchases and maintenance) on approved uses for drones;

iii) Memorandums of understanding (MOUs), memorandums of agreement (MOAs) or any other agreements or contracts with other government agencies, private corporations, organizations or individuals to share drone equipment, data, images or video or to operate drones on behalf of the agency;

4) Training documents:

i) Curriculum used to train drone operators and observers;

ii) Training log for all drone operators and observers;

iii) Certifications of training completion for all drone operators and observers;

iv) Contracts, purchase orders, budget requests or reimbursement orders for training sessions for all drone operators and observers;

5) Usage documents:

i) Flight logs for all drone flights, including training flights;

ii) Flight logs transmitted to the Federal Aviation Administration pursuant to Certificate of Waiver/Authorization (COA) requirements;

iii) Reprimands relating to drones, including misuse of equipment and failure to properly maintain equipment.

I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as I believe this request is in the public interest. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.

In the event that fees cannot be waived, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 10 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Shawn Musgrave

From: Raymond, Gabriella P., County Counsel

Subject: None

None

Dear Sir/Madam,

Pursuant to California Government Code section 6253(c), I write in response to the public records requests that you made to the Alameda County Sheriff's Office ("ACSO") regarding aerial "drones." Your requests were received on October 15, 2013. This request is within the 10 day period specified by California Government Code Section 6253(c).

Based upon the description of the 19 separate and distinct subcategories of records you request, ACSO will need to search for and collect the requested records from field facilities or other establishments that are separate from the office processing the request; will need to search for, collect, and appropriately examine a voluminous amount of separate and distinct records; and may also need to consult with other agencies having substantial interest in the determination of the request or among two or more component agencies of Alameda County. As a result, ACSO will need an additional period of 14 days to process your request, per California Government Code Section 6253(c).

From: MuckRock.com

Subject: None

None

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Oct. 15, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

From: Raymond, Gabriella P., County Counsel

Subject: None

None

Thank you for your follow-up e-mail, attached below. Yes, the Sheriff's Office has searched its records and determined that it does have records responsive to your requests. The records are being assembled and duplicated. A cost estimate for duplication of the records will be provided to you no later than November 21, 2013. Upon receipt of payment for the records, they will be provided to you.

-Gabriella Raymond

Gabriella Raymond | Deputy County Counsel
Office of the County Counsel
1221 Oak Street, Suite 450 | Oakland, California 94612
510-272-6701 | Facsimile No. 510-272-5020 | QIC 20104
gabriella.raymond@acgov.org<http://@acgov.org@@ | www.acgov.org@@http://www.acgov.org/>

From: Raymond, Gabriella P., County Counsel

Subject: None

None

The Sheriff’s Office provides a cost estimate of $33.60 for duplication of 336 records responsive to your requests.
Please forward a check made payable to the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office in that amount to the following address:

Judy Mulder
Alameda County Sheriff’s Office
Lakeside Plaza Building
1401 Lakeside Drive, 7th Floor
Oakland, CA 94612.

Upon receipt of the payment, the Sheriff’s Office will provide the records to you.
Thank you,
Gabriella Raymond

Gabriella Raymond | Deputy County Counsel
Office of the County Counsel
1221 Oak Street, Suite 450 | Oakland, California 94612
510-272-6701 | Facsimile No. 510-272-5020 | QIC 20104
gabriella.raymond@acgov.org<http://@acgov.org@@ | www.acgov.org@@http://www.acgov.org/>

From: Shawn Musgrave

Subject: None

None

Hello,

I'm dropping a check in the mail now. Please confirm its arrival and estimated delivery date for the documents.

Best,
Shawn

From: Alameda County Sheriff Department

Subject: None

None

A copy of documents responsive to the request.

From: Alameda County Sheriff Department

Subject: None

None

A cover letter granting the request and outlining any exempted materials, if any.

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