Amazon/Ring Records from Bloomfield
| Submitted | July 1, 2019 |
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Communications
From: Aarian Marshall
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the New Jersey Open Public Records Act, I hereby request the following records:
Any emails, written communications, documents, or other communications between officials from the Bloomfield Police Department and representatives of the corporations "Amazon" and/or "Ring."
We seek Bloomfield Police Department records of any kind, including electronic records, audiotapes, videotapes, and photographs, as well as letters, emails, facsimiles, telephone messages, voice mail messages and transcripts, notes, and minutes of any meetings. The search should be limited to responsive records created between January 1, 2018 and the day the request is fulfilled.
Our request includes any attachments to these records. No category of material should be omitted from search, collection, and production. You may not exclude searches of files or emails in the personal custody of your officials, such as personal email accounts.
In the event some portions of the requested records are properly exempt from disclosure, please disclose any reasonably segregable non-exempt portions of the requested records. If it is your position that a document contains non-exempt segments, but that those non-exempt segments are so dispersed throughout the document as to make segregation impossible, please state what portion of the document is non-exempt, and how the material is dispersed throughout the document. If a request is denied in whole, please state specifically that it is not reasonable to segregate portions of the record for release.
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 7 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Louise Matsakis
From: Municipal Clerk
The Township of Bloomfield received your Open Public Records Act (OPRA) Request on July 2, 2019. As such, the seven (7) business day deadline to respond to your request is July 12, 2019, however that date is subject to change because your request needs to be clarified. This request for clarification is being sent to you on the 1st business day after the Township's receipt of said request.
A copy of your request is attached to this email.
Currently, your request fails to identify with reasonable clarity the specific government records sought and is overly broad and unclear, pursuant to MAG Entertainment. LLC v. Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control, 375 N.J. Super. 534 (App. Div. 2005), Bent v. Stafford Police Department, 381 N.J. Super. 30 (App. Div. 2005), New Jersey Builders Association v. New Jersey Council on Affordable Housing, 390 N.J. Super. 166 (App. Div. 2007) and Schuler v. Borough of Bloomsbury, GRC Complaint No. 2007-151 (February 2009). An example of what is considered overly broad in your request is: "Any emails, written communications, documents, or other communications between officials from the Bloomfield Police Department and representatives of the corporations 'Amazon' and/or 'Ring.' You have not listed an individual's name (sender or receiver), nor have you listed "specific government records". An example of a valid request is: "All letters or emails between John Doe and Jim Smith regarding construction of the new high school between January 1, 2019 and February 24, 2019." The Township is obligated to search files to find identifiable government records listed in a valid OPRA request - we are not required to research our files to figure out which records, if any, might be responsive to an unclear and overly broad request.
At this time, we request clarification of your OPRA request in accordance with the guidelines above and ask that you please provide the required information in writing so that we may process your request. Please be reminded that the time for the Township to respond to your request will not begin to toll until the additional information requested has been received. Failure to provide written clarification of your request within a reasonable amount of time will result in the closure of this OPRA request.
If your request for access to a government record has been denied or unfulfilled within the seven (7) business days required by law, you have a right to challenge the decision by the Township of Bloomfield to deny access. At your option, you may either institute a proceeding in the Superior Court of New Jersey, or file a complaint with the Government Records Council (GRC) by completing the Denial of Access Complaint Form. You may contact the GRC by toll-free telephone at 866-850-0511, by mail at P.O. Box 819, Trenton, New Jersey, 08625, by e-mail at grc@dca.state.nj.us<mailto:grc@dca.state.nj.us>, or at their website at www.state.nj.us/grc<http://www.state.nj.us/grc>. The GRC can also answer other questions about the law. All questions regarding complaints filed in the Superior Court should be directed to the Court Clerk in your County.
Thank you.
JoAnn Bruno
OPRA/Licensing Clerk
Municipal Clerk's Office
Township of Bloomfield
973-680-4014
jbruno@bloomfieldtwpnj.com<mailto:jbruno@bloomfieldtwpnj.com>
From: Aarian Marshall
Dear JoAnn Bruno,
Thanks for your help in completing this request. I am specifically seeking emails between Bloomfield Police Department officials and representatives from Amazon and/or Ring. These email addresses should end in either @amazon.com or @ring.com. Below, I have specified which Bloomfield officials' email accounts I wish to be searched. The timeframe of these messages should be from January 1, 2018 to July 1, 2019. Please let me know if you need any further clarifying information from me.
Gary Peters gpeters@bloomfieldnjpd.com
Glenn Wiegand gwiegand@bloomfieldnjpd.com
Sean Schwindt sschwindt@bloomfieldnjpd.com
Vincent Kerney vkerney@bloomfieldnjpd.com
Thomas Icolari ticolari@bloomfieldnjpd.com
George Ricci gricci@bloomfieldnjpd.com
Naomi Zepeda nzepeda@bloomfieldnjpd.com
Sincerely,
Louise Matsakis
From: Municipal Clerk
I’ve check junk and spam folder and there is no clarification in either. Can you please attach the clarification to this email and send it back as a response?
From: Municipal Clerk
Thank you – the clarification is perfect. It will be marked as received with today’s date. Under the NJ OPRA statute, the Township has seven (7) business days, beginning the day after a request is received, to provide an official response. As such, you can expect the Township’s response on before July 30, 2019. I will respond to this email address.
JoAnn Bruno
OPRA/Licensing Clerk
Municipal Clerk’s Office
Township of Bloomfield
(973) 680-4014
From: Bloomfield Police Department
The Township of Bloomfield received your Open Public Records Act (OPRA) Request on July 19, 2019. As such, the seven (7) business day deadline to respond to your request is July 30, 2019. This response to your request is being provided to you on the 6th business day after the Township’s receipt of said request.
A copy of your OPRA request is attached to this email.
The following records are being provided in their entirety and are the ONLY documents in the Township’s possession responsive to your request:
1. Emails provided by the Township’s Police Department in response to your request (93 pages).
These records are being transmitted to you via email.
If your request for access to a government record has been denied or unfulfilled within the seven (7) business days required by law, you have a right to challenge the decision by the Township of Bloomfield to deny access. At your option, you may either institute a proceeding in the Superior Court of New Jersey, or file a complaint with the Government Records Council (GRC) by completing the Denial of Access Complaint Form. You may contact the GRC by toll-free telephone at 866-850-0511, by mail at P.O. Box 819, Trenton, New Jersey, 08625, by e-mail at grc@dca.state.nj.us<mailto:grc@dca.state.nj.us>, or at their website at www.state.nj.us/grc<http://www.state.nj.us/grc>. The GRC can also answer other questions about the law. All questions regarding complaints filed in the Superior Court should be directed to the Court Clerk in your County.
Thank you.
JoAnn Bruno
OPRA/Licensing Clerk
Municipal Clerk’s Office
Township of Bloomfield
(973) 680-4014
jbruno@bloomfieldtwpnj.com<mailto:jbruno@bloomfieldtwpnj.com>
From: Aarian Marshall
Hi JoAnn,
Thanks so much for your help with this request! I really appreciate it.
Sincerely,
Louise Matsakis
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