General Gordon Baker, Jr. (Spet 6, 1941-May 18, 2014)

An acknowledgement letter, stating the request is being processed.

The request has been rejected by the agency.

Mr. Goldberg,

Find response and records attached.

Mark A. Toaz
Assistant Corporation Counsel
City of Detroit Law Department
Municipal Section
(313) 237-6308

Good afternoon Mr. Goldberg,

The DPD Law Unit has followed up on searching the record number you
provided, as well as all names and aliases provided, and the records
delivered to you are all that can be found in archives. I cannot speak
to what records you possess, but will inform you that DPD does not
maintain records in perpetuity, especially if they were not generated
digitally, as storage space is limited. Many of the records provided to
you are considerably older than those DPD typically maintains, as it is
uncommon that DPD or any unit of the City of Detroit maintains records
beyond 20 years (outside of homicide and certain other felony records).

Multiple searches have been performed and all public records requested
have been provided to you. As such your request and subsequent appeal
are now closed.

Mark A. Toaz
Assistant Corporation Counsel
City of Detroit Law Department
Municipal Section
(313) 237-6308

>>> <requests@muckrock.com> 10/25/2017 2:08 PM >>>

October 25, 2017
Detroit Police Department
City of Detroit Police Department Law Unit
Coleman A. Young Municipal Building
2 Woodward Avenue, Suite 500
Detroit, Michigan 48226
This is a follow up to request number A17-05442:
Thank you for what has been provided, but I know, based on documents
that I already have, that this is a very incomplete record. My request
asked for any and all records pertaining to Mr. Baker. Based on the
information you've provided me, I am looking for the entire police file
pertaining to Mr. Baker, which apparently has been given, by the DPD,
the following record number: 263956. This may require you to go into the
archive, but doing so will help fulfill my initial request. Thank you
for your time and effort, and i look forward to hearing back from you in
the near future.
David Goldberg
4698 Audubon Rd.
Detroit, MI 48224
Filed via MuckRock.com
E-mail (Preferred): requests@muckrock.com
Upload documents directly:
https://www.muckrock.com/accounts/agency_login/detroit-police-department-644/general-gordon-baker-jr-spet-6-1941-may-18-2014-42590/?email=ToazM%40detroitmi.gov&uuid-login=deb15840-546c-42a5-9456-e95ab015a132#agency-reply
Is this email coming to the wrong contact? Something else wrong? Use
the above link to let us know.
For mailed responses, please address (see note):
MuckRock News
DEPT MR 42590
411A Highland Ave
Somerville, MA 02144-2516
PLEASE NOTE: This request is not filed by a MuckRock staff member, but
is being sent through MuckRock by the above in order to better track,
share, and manage public records requests. Also note that improperly
addressed (i.e., with the requester's name rather than "MuckRock News"
and the department number) requests might be returned as undeliverable.
---
On Oct. 24, 2017:
Mr. Goldberg,
Find response and records attached.
Mark A. Toaz
Assistant Corporation Counsel
City of Detroit Law Department
Municipal Section
(313) 237-6308
---
On Oct. 16, 2017:
I am writing to appeal the DPP's rejection of my prior FOIA request
pertaining to General Gordon Baker (ID: A17-05442).
While the DPD claims to have no records relating to Mr. Baker or the
various organizations he was involved in, his family has already shared
with me his Red Squad file, as well as other records that directly show
communication between DPD officers and officials and representatives of
both the Michigan State police and the FBI, several of which are
available in online databases, and are part of the public record
As Mr.Baker's biographer, I would be more than happy to submit these
documents in court if need be, but I would strongly prefer it if the
department does a far more thorough search on appeal. Moreover, his
birthday was Sept. 6, 1941. I point this out because it would be a
shame, and a violation of the spirit of FOIA law, if a typo was the
actual rationale for the rejection I've received.
---
On Oct. 3, 2017:
The request has been rejected by the agency.
---
On Sept. 5, 2017:
An acknowledgement letter, stating the request is being processed.
---
On Aug. 29, 2017:
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to Michigan's Freedom of Information Act ("FOIA"), I hereby
request the following records:
I requesting any and all materials pertaining to General G. Baker Jr.
(AKA Al Ware, or “Big Al” Ware), who was born in Detroit, Mi on Sept 6,
1941 and passed away on May 18, 2014. Mr. Baker refused induction into
the Army on Sept. 10, 1965, and was subsequently declared a security
risk by military officials and was associated with the anti-war
movement, the September 10th movement, UHURU, the Revolutionary Action
Movement, and later, the Dodge Revolutionary Movement (DRUM) and the
League of Revolutionary Black Workers, which were all located in the
Detroit area. I request access to any and all pertaining to Mr. Baker,
including, but not limited to, DPD reports, Red Squad files,
correspondence between your office and local (State of Michigan police
and/or cities of, including Highland Park and Hamtramck police) and
federal governmental agencies, including the FBI and CIA; intelligence
reports; counterintelligence, news clippings; photos, phone taps,
pictures, etc.
Obituary:
https://www.pambazuka.org/resources/general-gordon-baker-jr-pioneer-african-american-working-class-resistance
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 5
business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
David Goldberg
Filed via MuckRock.com
E-mail (Preferred): requests@muckrock.com
Upload documents directly:
https://www.muckrock.com/accounts/agency_login/detroit-police-department-644/general-gordon-baker-jr-spet-6-1941-may-18-2014-42590/?email=ToazM%40detroitmi.gov&uuid-login=deb15840-546c-42a5-9456-e95ab015a132#agency-reply
Is this email coming to the wrong contact? Something else wrong? Use
the above link to let us know.
For mailed responses, please address (see note):
MuckRock News
DEPT MR 42590
411A Highland Ave
Somerville, MA 02144-2516
PLEASE NOTE: This request is not filed by a MuckRock staff member, but
is being sent through MuckRock by the above in order to better track,
share, and manage public records requests. Also note that improperly
addressed (i.e., with the requester's name rather than "MuckRock News"
and the department number) requests might be returned as undeliverable.

A letter stating the requester must agree to or prepay assessed or estimated fees in order for the agency to continue processing the request.