Cannabis Arrest ,Citations & Memos (Austin Police Department)

Dear Jordan Lassiter:

Thank you for your interest in the public records of the Austin Police Department. Your request has been received and is being processed. Your request was received in this office on 2/21/2022 and given the reference number R075315-022122 for tracking purposes.
Please be advised that the Austin Police Department’s Central Records Division receives over 2500 requests for information a month. These requests are processed in the order received, and we strive to respond to each request promptly, as required by law.
Please know that, as a result of the large volume of requests received, the anticipated timeframe for responding to your request may take 10 business days if it is simply an offense report you're requesting.  If you are requesting body cam, dash cam, or other related records your request could take up to 30 days.
You will be contacted about the availability and/or provided with copies of the records requested. PLEASE NOTE: The Texas Public Information Act does not require a governmental body to create new information, to do legal research, or to answer questions.
You can monitor the progress of your request at the link below and you’ll receive an email when your request has been completed. Again, thank you for using the Austin Public Records Center.
Austin Police Department

Dear Jordan Lassiter:
Thank you for contacting the City of Austin. Your request was received in this office on 3/15/2022 and given the reference number C130294-031522 for tracking purposes. Your request will be forwarded to the relevant City departments to locate the information you seek.
Records Requested: To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Texas Public Information Act, I hereby request the following records:

All internal memos related to Cannabis or Marijuana
Including digital media, paper copies or pamphlets, as well as out reach material

In addition Summary of arrest or citation issued through January 1st 2021- February 19th 2022 for marijuana & or cannabis

We are also seeking any data in regards to arrest Or citation issued

Gender
Age
Ethnicity

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, 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,

Jordan Lassiter

Upload documents directly: https://www.muckrock.com/
Pursuant to the Texas Public Information Act, you will receive communication from the City of Austin within 10 business days informing you of one or more of the following:
• The date the information will be available or a copy of the records sought
• A cost estimate/invoice
• A letter advising there is no responsive information for your request or that some/all the responsive information may or must be withheld by the City of Austin in accordance with the law
• The need for clarification from you.
Please note your request must ask for records that already exist. The Texas Public Information Act does not require a governmental body to create new information, perform legal research, or answer questions.
You can monitor the status of your request using the "My Request Center" menu option at the Austin Public Records Center.
You will receive an email once your request is complete.

--- Please respond above this line ---

Hi Jordan,
I have been assigned your request and I am working on responsive information for the the first part of the request. The citation information will come from municipal court, they assigned a PIR # of  C130294-031522. I have reached out to our Planning and Research team for stats of arrests.  Stats for citations will need to also come from the municipal court. Please message here if you have any questions.
Thank you,
Surei

--- Please respond above this line ---

Hi Jordan,
I have made available responsive information to this request through the portal/system. I am waiting hear back from Research and Planning on any arrest statistics they have as responsive information for this request. If you have any technical issues please message me here.
Thank you,
Surei

Mr. Lassiter:

Your request was received.

Regarding your request for marijuana/cannabis, Austin Municipal Court does not process that charge, therefore we do not have any responsive information for that request.

The citation data you are requesting is available to you free of charge on the court's data portal. If you need assistance, I will be happy to walk you through the data portal. My direct line is below. For your convenience I have provided the web link to the data portal below.

https://data.austintexas.gov/browse?q=municipal+court&sortBy=relevance&page=1

If you wish for the court to pull the data for you, there will be a cost associated with the request.

Thank You for contacting City of Austin Municipal Court.

Debbie Cowan
Office of the Court Clerk
Administrative Specialist
512-974-4643 - Direct
Debbie.cowan@austintexas.gov<mailto:Debbie.cowan@austintexas.gov>

Austin Municipal Court
P O Box 2135
Austin, TX 78768-2135

Our Mission: To impartially administer justice in a fair and efficient manner so that trust and accountability are exemplified to the public we serve.
Our Vision: To be the most effective, efficient, and impartial municipal court in Texas.

Click HERE<> for directions to the court on Google Maps

[cid:image001.jpg@01D63A88.02DFC130]

--- Please respond above this line ---

Re: Open Record Request of March 15, 2022, Reference # C130294-031522
Dear Jordan Lassiter,
The City of Austin received a Public Information request from you on March 15, 2022, to request copies of records pertaining to the following: “To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Texas Public Information Act, I hereby request the following records:

All internal memos related to Cannabis or Marijuana
Including digital media, paper copies or pamphlets, as well as out reach material

In addition Summary of arrest or citation issued through January 1st 2021- February 19th 2022 for marijuana & or cannabis

We are also seeking any data in regards to arrest Or citation issued

Gender
Age
Ethnicity

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, 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,

Jordan Lassiter

Upload documents directly: https://www.muckrock.com/ This is a request for judicial records. Your request will be answered in accordance with Rule 12. Your judicial records request number is 17655.
Thank you for contacting the City of Austin.
PIR Team
City of Austin—Law Department
(512) 974-2197

--- Please respond above this line ---

Re: Open Record Request of March 15, 2022, Reference # C130294-031522
Dear Jordan Lassiter,
The City of Austin received a Public Information request from you on March 15, 2022, to request copies of records pertaining to the following: “To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Texas Public Information Act, I hereby request the following records:

All internal memos related to Cannabis or Marijuana
Including digital media, paper copies or pamphlets, as well as out reach material

In addition Summary of arrest or citation issued through January 1st 2021- February 19th 2022 for marijuana & or cannabis

We are also seeking any data in regards to arrest Or citation issued

Gender
Age
Ethnicity

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, 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,

Jordan Lassiter

Upload documents directly: https://www.muckrock.com/ PIR Team is not associated with the Municipal Court. You were provided a reference number in our previous correspondence. Your judicial records request number is 17655. We cannot state when your request will be handled by them.
Thank you for contacting the City of Austin.
PIR Team
City of Austin—Law Department
(512) 974-2197

--- Please respond above this line ---

Hi Jordan,
I apologize for the delay. I have taken over this request as Cpl. Kilgore isn't helping out with open records requests anymore. Are you still wanting the stats for this request? I know the rest of the request has already been fulfilled. Please let me know and I will check with Research and Planning to see where they are with pulling the stats. It looks like they never responded back to Cpl. Kilgore when he asked for a status update. If I am good to close out this request, please let me know.
Thank you,
Lisa Cortinas
APD PIO

--- Please respond above this line ---

Hi Jordan,
No problem! I am waiting to hear back from research and planning and will get you a status update as soon as I have it.
Thanks!
Lisa Cortinas

--- Please respond above this line ---

Hi Jordan,
The last piece of this request has been uploaded to the attachments tab. I am closing out your request now.
Thank you,
Lisa Cortinas
APD PIO