Sheriff Data Collection Request (2021)

Samuel Sinyangwe filed this request with the Buncombe County Sheriff of Buncombe County, NC.
Status
Completed

Communications

From: Samuel Sinyangwe

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the North Carolina Public Records Law, I hereby request the following records:

1. the total number of use of force incidents, separated by type of force and year used in 2021 (for example, information that specifies the number of taser incidents in 2021, baton incidents in 2021, etc.). Please include as part of this a breakdown of how many use of force incidents in each year were related to law enforcement operations and how many were related to correctional/custodial operations.

2. the total number of civilian complaints alleging any form of law enforcement misconduct that were reported and the total number sustained in 2021.

3. the total number of civilian complaints alleging law enforcement use of excessive force that were reported and the total number sustained in 2021.

4. the total number of civilian complaints alleging biased policing or racial profiling that were reported and the total number sustained in 2021.

5. the total number of civilian complaints alleging criminal conduct that were reported and the total number sustained in 2021.

6. the total number of officer involved shootings in 2021, both fatal and non-fatal.

When available, I would appreciate being sent individualized data for each item in this request in spreadsheet format. If individualized data are unavailable, please send information that includes aggregate statistics for the item instead.

Note that my requests for civilian complaints are specifically for civilian complaints alleging police misconduct, please do not include complaints filed by one officer/the department against another officer.

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.

Sincerely,

Samuel Sinyangwe

From: Buncombe County Sheriff

Hello Muckrock,

Our responses are below in bold.

Pursuant to the North Carolina Public Records Law, I hereby request the following records:

1. the total number of use of force incidents, separated by type of force and year used in 2021 (for example, information that specifies the number of taser incidents in 2021, baton incidents in 2021, etc.). Please include as part of this a breakdown of how many use of force incidents in each year were related to law enforcement operations and how many were related to correctional/custodial operations.

There were 36 total use of force incidents by the Buncombe County Sheriff's Office during 2021.

Canine - 1
Hands/Feet/Person - 8
Handgun - 8
None - 4
Taser - 15

2. the total number of civilian complaints alleging any form of law enforcement misconduct that were reported and the total number sustained in 2021.

3. the total number of civilian complaints alleging law enforcement use of excessive force that were reported and the total number sustained in 2021.

4. the total number of civilian complaints alleging biased policing or racial profiling that were reported and the total number sustained in 2021.

5. the total number of civilian complaints alleging criminal conduct that were reported and the total number sustained in 2021.

Under North Carolina public records laws, members of the public have the right to inspect and copy, not compile or create a new record upon a request, as per NCGS 132-6.2(e), which states that nothing in this section shall be construed to require a public agency to respond to a request for copy of a public record by creating or compiling a record that does not exist. Public records law in North Carolina do not require the Sheriff’s Office to create new records in response to questions #2 through #5.

6. the total number of officer involved shootings in 2021, both fatal and non-fatal.

The Buncombe County Sheriff's Office had zero deputy or officer-involved shootings during 2021.

I believe this fulfills your request in total.

Aaron

[cid:41b02add-c250-4760-a44a-4c7421c48d72]

Aaron Sarver

Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office,

PIO

p. (828) 250-4414 c. (828) 713-0452

60 Court Plaza, 4th Floor - Asheville, NC 28801

21st Century Policing. Procedural Justice.

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