Expenditures relating to visits from federal officials (Baltimore County Police Department) • MuckRock

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Communications

From: Emma North-Best

09/17/2019

Subject: Maryland Public Information Act Request: Expenditures relating to visits from federal officials (Baltimore County Police Department)

Fax

To Whom It May Concern:

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

Records describing, authorizing or mentioning expenses or personnel assignments in response to or accommodation of visits from officials in the federal government between January 1, 2001 and the present.

I am a member of the news media and request classification as such. I have previously written about the government and its activities, with some reaching over 100,000 readers in outlets such as Gizmodo, MuckRock, Motherboard, Property of the People, Unicorn Riot, and The Outline, among others. As such, as I have a reasonable expectation of publication and my editorial and writing skills are well established. In addition, I discuss and comment on the files online and make them available through non-profits such as the library Internet Archive and the journalist non-profit MuckRock, disseminating them to a large audience. While my research is not limited to this, a great deal of it, including this, focuses on the activities and attitudes of the government itself. As such, it is not necessary for me to demonstrate the relevance of this particular subject in advance.

As my primary purpose is to inform about government activities by reporting on it and making the raw data available, I request that fees be waived.

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 calendar days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Emma Best

From:

09/23/2019

Subject: NR 19-677 - Maryland Public Information Act Request - Expenses related to visits by Federal Government Officials

Dear Ms. Best:

Your September 17, 2019 letter to the Baltimore County Police Department ("BCOPD"), PIA Office, was referred to the Baltimore County Office of Law for review and response pursuant to the Maryland Public Information Act ("MPIA"), Md. Code Ann., Gen. Provis. § 4 - 101 et seq.

Specifically, you request " records describing, authorizing or mentioning expenses or personnel assignments in response to or accommodation of visits from officials in the federal government between January 1, 2001 and the present."

To date, I have not received responsive records, however, I will contact BCOPD and inquire as to the progress of their search and determine what, if any, fees are associated with the request. As soon as I have additional information to provide, I will be in touch.

Thank you for your patience.

Sincerely,

Vickie Wash

Vickie L. Wash, Esq.
Assistant County Attorney
Office of Law
400 Washington Avenue
Towson, MD 21204

From: Muckrock Staff

10/08/2019