ProPublica: Incident Report Request (Baltimore Police)

Dear Lucas Waldron,

This is an acknowledgement of your request below, for public information, submitted to the Document Compliance Unit (“DCU”) of the Baltimore Police Department (“BPD”). Your request is governed by the Maryland Public Information Act (“PIA”), Maryland Code, General Provisions Article (“GP”), Sections 4-101 et seq. DCU will process your request promptly. However, our response may take longer than ten (10) working days, the reasons for which may include the scope of your request, the type and volume of potentially responsive records, and the nature of the search, review, and preparation that is required. In any event, DCU will respond to your request within thirty (30) days. GP § 4-203.

DCU will contact you with the availability of records and the possible costs associated with this request, as soon as the information is made available by the Custodian of Records. Likewise, if DCU and/or the Custodian of Records need you to clarify your request, DCU will contact you promptly.

Please refer to tracking # MPIA 18-0225 in any subsequent correspondence pertaining to this matter. All follow up correspondence should be made in writing and submitted to the DCU’s e-mail: DCU@baltimorepolice.org<mailto:DCU@baltimorepolice.org>.

Respectfully,

P/O Shawn Baker I259
Baltimore Police Department
Document Compliance Unit
Legal Affairs Division
100 N. Holiday St., Room 100
Baltimore, MD 21202
DCU@baltimorepolice.org<mailto:DCU@baltimorepolice.org>
Baltimore Police Department Policies
https://www.baltimorepolice.org/transparency/policies
MPIA Request Forms
http://law.baltimorecity.gov/office-legal-affairs-baltimore-police-department

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Confidentiality Notice:
This e-mail, including any attachment(s), is intended for receipt and use by the intended addressee(s), and may contain legal or other confidential and privileged information. If you are not an intended recipient of this e-mail, you are hereby notified that any unauthorized use or distribution of this e-mail is strictly prohibited, and requested to delete this communication and its attachment(s) without making any copies thereof and to contact the sender of this e-mail immediately. Nothing contained in the body and/or header of this e-mail is intended as a signature or intended to bind the addressor or any person represented by the addressor to the terms of any agreement that may be the subject of this e-mail or its attachment(s), except where such intent is expressly indicated.

The materials in this e-mail are private and may contain sensitive law enforcement information. Please note that e-mail is not necessarily confidential or secure. Use of e-mail constitutes your acknowledgment of these confidentiality and security limitations. If you are not the intended recipient, be advised that any unauthorized use, disclosure, copying, distribution, or the taking of any action in reliance on the contents of this information is strictly prohibited as covered by the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 U.S.C. §§ 2510-2521. If you have received this e-mail in error, please immediately notify the sender via telephone or return e-mail.

Dear Mr. Waldron,

On March 1, 2018, you submitted a request for public records to the Document Compliance Unit (“DCU”) of the Baltimore Police Department (“BPD”), for “ Incident report and any supplemental documents related to the murder of Alphonza Watson, who was shot on the 2400 block of Guilford Ave. on or near 3/22/2017.” The Maryland Public Information Act (“PIA”), Annotated Code of Maryland, General Provisions Article, § 4-101, et seq. governs your request.
The responsive record(s) are maintained by the Homicide Unit of BPD. Based on your description of the incident in your request, the central complaint number (CC#) for this incident is CC# 5-170308460. To this end, please find Incident Report CC# 5-170308460 attached. This record was provided by the DCU as responsive to your request. Redacted from this report is the personal identifying information of the individual(s) named in the records. See Md. Code Ann., Gen. Prov. §§ 4-330; 4-351.
However, this case is an open investigation and as such, the BPD is only releasing the responding officer’s initial incident report. Supplemental or follow up reports/records are considered records of the investigation. In the instant matter, the Homicide Unit is handling the ongoing investigation for CC# 5-170308460. Therefore, the portion of your request for “supplemental documents,” is denied, as such records would constitute open and ongoing investigation records.
Pursuant to PIA § 4-343, BPD’s position is that release of any portion of the “supplemental documents” that are currently part of an open and ongoing investigation would be contrary to the public interest. See City of Frederick v. Randall Family, LLC, 154 Md. App. 543, 562-67 (2004). In further support of the decision to not disclose any supplemental records or any portion thereof, note that PIA Section 4-351(a) provides the Custodian with discretion to deny records of an open and ongoing investigation. See MPIA 4-351(a) “Subject to subsection (b) of this section, a custodian may deny inspection of: (1) records of investigations conducted by the Attorney General, a State’s Attorney, a municipal or county attorney, a police department, or a sheriff.”
Additionally, the MPIA Manual provides the following in regard to a law enforcement agency’s decision to withhold records relating to open and ongoing investigations:

“When the records in question are investigatory, and when they come from one of these enumerated agencies, the exception applies without need for an actual showing that the records were compiled for law enforcement or prosecution purposes. The Court of Appeals has held that the investigatory records of one of the seven enumerated agencies are presumed to be for law enforcement purposes. Superintendent v. Henschen, 279 Md. 468 (1977); see also Blythe v. State, 161 Md. App. 492, 525-26 n.6 (2005). Thus, an enumerated agency need not make a particularized showing of a law enforcement purpose to justify the withholding of a record relating to a criminal investigation. See Office of the State Prosecutor, 356 Md. 118.”

MPIA Manual 14th ed., October 2015, Pg. 3-34 (emphasis added). Please note, no amount of redaction to any supplemental records would make them any less investigative records pertaining to an open and ongoing investigation.

Nothing in this response is intended to indicate that any records sought from the BPD exist or to waive any privileges held by the BPD. You have the right under PIA § 4-1B-04 to contact the Public Access Ombudsman to mediate any dispute(s) you may have with this response. You may also, contest this response by filing a complaint in Circuit Court pursuant to PIA § 4-362. Please refer to MPIA tracking # 18-0225 in any subsequent correspondence pertaining to this matter.

Respectfully,

P/O Shawn Baker I259
Baltimore Police Department
Document Compliance Unit
Legal Affairs Division
100 N. Holiday St., Room 100
Baltimore, MD 21202
DCU@baltimorepolice.org<mailto:DCU@baltimorepolice.org>
Baltimore Police Department Policies
https://www.baltimorepolice.org/transparency/policies
MPIA Request Forms
http://law.baltimorecity.gov/office-legal-affairs-baltimore-police-department

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Confidentiality Notice:
This e-mail, including any attachment(s), is intended for receipt and use by the intended addressee(s), and may contain legal or other confidential and privileged information. If you are not an intended recipient of this e-mail, you are hereby notified that any unauthorized use or distribution of this e-mail is strictly prohibited, and requested to delete this communication and its attachment(s) without making any copies thereof and to contact the sender of this e-mail immediately. Nothing contained in the body and/or header of this e-mail is intended as a signature or intended to bind the addressor or any person represented by the addressor to the terms of any agreement that may be the subject of this e-mail or its attachment(s), except where such intent is expressly indicated.

The materials in this e-mail are private and may contain sensitive law enforcement information. Please note that e-mail is not necessarily confidential or secure. Use of e-mail constitutes your acknowledgment of these confidentiality and security limitations. If you are not the intended recipient, be advised that any unauthorized use, disclosure, copying, distribution, or the taking of any action in reliance on the contents of this information is strictly prohibited as covered by the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 U.S.C. §§ 2510-2521. If you have received this e-mail in error, please immediately notify the sender via telephone or return e-mail.

Good morning,

This request was responded to with the requested Incident Report attached on March 7th, 2018. Let me know if you did not receive it and I will resend. MPIA 18-0225.

Respectfully,

P/O Shawn Baker I259
Baltimore Police Department
Document Compliance Unit
Legal Affairs Division
100 N. Holiday St., Room 100
Baltimore, MD 21202
DCU@baltimorepolice.org