Police department misconduct allegations and disciplinary proceedings
It is a clone of this request.
| Submitted | June 16, 2020 |
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Communications
From: Beryl Lipton
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the New York Freedom of Information Law, I hereby request the following records:
All materials and records describing and sufficient to show/disclose all allegations of misconduct made and all disciplinary proceedings taken against any officer, employee, or representative of this policing agency.
As described in the New York Freedom of Information Law, a record is "any information kept, held, filed, produced or reproduced by, with or for an agency or the state legislature, in any physical form whatsoever including, but not limited to, reports, statements, examinations, memoranda, opinions, folders, files, books, manuals, pamphlets, forms, papers, designs, drawings, maps, photos, letters, microfilms, computer tapes or discs, rules, regulations or codes." Records kept in a digital or electronic form are also records, would be responsive to this request, and should be provided.
These records are typically required to be retained under the New York State Records Retention and Disposition Schedule MU-1 (http://www.archives.nysed.gov/records/retention_mu-1), including, but not limited to, item no. 365, which includes: "Investigative records and disciplinary proceedings, including but not limited to statement of charge, transcript of hearing, notice of decision, letter of termination or resignation, letter of reinstatement, record of appeal procedure, and correspondence." While materials under that schedule have a set retention of 3 years after the final decision rendered, this request and materials responsive to it include *all* records held in the possession of any office or individual employed or formerly employed by this policing agency, including those kept off-site, in digital form, and in personnel files.
Please note that any failure to provide all potentially-responsive materials and/or the destruction of materials potentially responsive to this request would be a violation of the spirit of the New York Freedom of Information Law, as well as unlawful under the New York FOIL and the terms of the attached litigation hold notice.
Materials responsive to this request include — but are not limited to — all complaints, reports, records of discipline and penalties, aggregate collections of complaint and disciplinary materials (spreadsheets, databases), investigatory materials, relevant related correspondence, photographs, video, other related evidence, proof of discipline or fulfillment of penalties, and all personnel materials (including those used in promotion, contract, and other employment negotiations and considerations) that reference or utilize misconduct allegations or disciplinary materials of any sort.
Materials responsive to this request include all complaints— internal, external, and civilian — and include records disclosing the names, badge numbers, and personnel identification of each officer involved and/or serving as a witness, as well as all available details of the incident/complaint: date, time, location, nature of the incident, description of the incident, nature of the investigation, investigatory materials, the disposition of the case, and any subsequent materials related to the execution of any resultant discipline. Responsive materials include all complaints and allegations against any officer, employee, or representative of this policing agency, regardless of whether that complaint or allegation resulted in any investigation or disciplinary action.
Responsive materials also include all records of use of force by officers, including records disclosing the names, badge numbers, and personnel identification of each officer involved and/or serving as a witness, as well as all available details of the incident: date, time, location, nature of the incident, description of the incident, nature of the use of force, subsequent investigatory materials related to the use of force, the disposition of any investigation into the incident, and any subsequent materials related to the use of force.
Please provide materials on a rolling basis, beginning with materials created during the following timeframes:
• January 1, 2010 - June 15, 2020
• January 1, 2000 - January 1, 2010
• January 1, 1990 - January 1, 2000
• January 1, 1980 - January 1, 1990
• January 1, 1970 - January 1, 1980
Pursuant to NYCRR Section 1401.5(c)(1), should any of this request be unclear or lack sufficient description for your office, please provide direction that would enable this requester to request records reasonably described. Please also note that the New York FOIL states: "An agency shall not deny a request on the basis that the request is voluminous or that locating or reviewing the requested records or providing the requested copies is burdensome because the agency lacks sufficient staffing or on any other basis if the agency may engage an outside professional service to provide copying, programming or other services required to provide the copy...." Please also see FOIL AO 19671, an Advisory Opinion from the Committee on Open Government [https://docs.dos.ny.gov/coog/ftext/f19671.htm].
If your office has questions about this request or would like to discuss it for any reason, please contact this requester via the contact email address provided and feel free to follow up by phone: 617-299-1832. This request is being submitted to each policing agency in New York as part of a collaborative project led by MuckRock and involving multiple other educational and journalistic partners and participants. For this reason, over the lifetime of this request, your agency may interface with individuals not listed on this initial communication.
This request is being made in the public interest by a news organization as part of non-profit (not commercial) journalistic work and research on behalf of the public. 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 and as part of the necessary negotiations for successful processing. As far as it is possible, please fulfill elements of this request 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 5 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Beryl Lipton
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following New York Freedom of Information Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 16, 2020. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Canajoharie Village Police Department
Dear Sir,
This letter is in response to your freedom of information request, which was received by this office on June 16th, 2020.
This office is compiling the records you requested. When and if they are available for your review and/or copying, we will contact you.
I anticipate that the requested documents will not be available within twenty days of the date of this letter due to the review necessary, and the manner in which they were stored. I anticipate that the records will be available for your review on or about_08/01/2020_. I will promptly inform you when they are available and of the statutory cost associated with their production.
If the documents can be produced sooner, I will contact you.
Chief Bryan MacFadden
Canajoharie Police
75 Erie Blvd
Canajoharie, NY 13317
Office 518-673-3111
Fax 518-673-2859
Bmacfadden@villageofcanajoharie.org
Confidentiality Notice: This fax/e-mail transmission, with accompanying records, is intended only for the use of the individual or entity to which it is addressed and may contain confidential and/or
privileged information belonging to the sender, including individually identifiable health information subject to the privacy and security provisions of HIPAA. This information may be protected by pertinent privilege(s), e.g., attorney-client, doctor-patient, HIPAA etc., which will be enforced to the fullest extent of the law. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any examination, analysis, disclosure, copying, dissemination, distribution, sharing, or use of the information in this transmission is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message and associated documents in error, please notify the sender immediately for instructions. If this message was received by e-mail, please delete the original message.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following New York Freedom of Information Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 16, 2020. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Canajoharie Village Police Department
The Village is compiling and reviewing the records and we appear to be on track to respond to you by August 1, 2020. We will notify you if that timeline changes.
Chief Bryan MacFadden
Canajoharie Police
75 Erie Blvd
Canajoharie, NY 13317
Office 518-673-3111
Fax 518-673-2859
Bmacfadden@villageofcanajoharie.org
Confidentiality Notice: This fax/e-mail transmission, with accompanying records, is intended only for the use of the individual or entity to which it is addressed and may contain confidential and/or
privileged information belonging to the sender, including individually identifiable health information subject to the privacy and security provisions of HIPAA. This information may be protected by pertinent privilege(s), e.g., attorney-client, doctor-patient, HIPAA etc., which will be enforced to the fullest extent of the law. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any examination, analysis, disclosure, copying, dissemination, distribution, sharing, or use of the information in this transmission is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message and associated documents in error, please notify the sender immediately for instructions. If this message was received by e-mail, please delete the original message.
-
~WRD000
From: Canajoharie Village Police Department
Dear Mudrock.
Your Freedom of Information request dated June 16th 2020; where in you asked for the following:
a) All materials and records describing and sufficient to show/disclose all allegations of misconduct made and all disciplinary proceedings taken against any officer, employee, or representative of this policing agency.
Materials responsive to this request include - but are not limited to - all complaints, reports, records of discipline and penalties, aggregate collections of complaint and disciplinary materials (spreadsheets, databases), investigatory materials, relevant related correspondence, photographs, video, other related evidence, proof of discipline or fulfillment of penalties, and all personnel materials (including those used in promotion, contract, and other employment negotiations and considerations) that reference or utilize misconduct allegations or disciplinary materials of any sort.
Materials responsive to this request include all complaints- internal, external, and civilian - and include records disclosing the names, badge numbers, and personnel identification of each officer involved and/or serving as a witness, as well as all available details of the incident/complaint: date, time, location, nature of the incident, description of the incident, nature of the investigation, investigatory materials, the disposition of the case, and any subsequent materials related to the execution of any resultant discipline. Responsive materials include all complaints and allegations against any officer, employee, or representative of this policing agency, regardless of whether that complaint or allegation resulted in any investigation or disciplinary action.
Responsive materials also include all records of use of force by officers, including records disclosing the names, badge numbers, and personnel identification of each officer involved and/or serving as a witness, as well as all available details of the incident: date, time, location, nature of the incident, description of the incident, nature of the use of force, subsequent investigatory materials related to the use of force, the disposition of any investigation into the incident, and any subsequent materials related to the use of force.
Please provide materials on a rolling basis, beginning with materials created during the following timeframes:
* January 1, 2010 - June 15, 2020
* January 1, 2000 - January 1, 2010
* January 1, 1990 - January 1, 2000
* January 1, 1980 - January 1, 1990
* January 1, 1970 - January 1, 1980
This is hereby approved in part and denied in part. All other records prior to June 2006 Flood where destroyed with no backup.
Please find our response in the attached documents; which are partially redacted because the deleted information, if disclosed, would create an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy because of the nature of the information. Additionally, we did not disclose unfounded/ unsubstantiated complaints because, if disclosed, would create an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.
Public Officers Law §87 (2) (b) allows an agency to withhold records to the extent that disclosure would constitute "an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy".
Additionally, some records were withheld as they were technical infractions as defined in subdivision nine of section eighty-six of Public Officers law. And Public Officers law allows such records to be withheld.
Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Law §89. 4. (a), a person denied access to a record may within thirty days appeal in writing such denial to the head, chief executive or governing body. In the Town of Canajoharie appeals should be addressed to the Town Supervisor. The Supervisor can be reached by mail at Canajoharie Police 75 Erie Blvd Canajoharie, NY 13317, or by email at police@villageofcanajohaarie.org
Chief Bryan MacFadden
Canajoharie Police Department
75 Erie Blvd
Canajoharie,NY 13317
Office 518-673-3111
Fax 518-673-2859
Confidentiality Notice: This fax/e-mail transmission, with accompanying records, is intended only for the use of the individual or entity to which it is addressed and may contain confidential and/or
privileged information belonging to the sender, including individually identifiable health information subject to the privacy and security provisions of HIPAA. This information may be protected by pertinent privilege(s), e.g., attorney-client, doctor-patient, HIPAA etc., which will be enforced to the fullest extent of the law. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any examination, analysis, disclosure, copying, dissemination, distribution, sharing, or use of the information in this transmission is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message and associated documents in error, please notify the sender immediately for instructions. If this message was received by e-mail, please delete the original message.
From: Beryl Lipton
Hello, Chief MacFadden,
Thank you so much for sending these materials along. I'll let you know if I have any other follow-up questions. I really appreciate your help with this request, and I hope you have a lovely week.
All the best to you,
Beryl
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