Purchase and 'less lethal' deployment records (East Palo Alto Police Department)

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the California Public Records Act, I hereby request the following records:

1. Purchase records, invoices, procurement documents and other documents sufficient to show any and all disbursement of public funds for the acquisition by your agency since July 1, 2015 of any of the following:
• Firearms of .50 caliber or greater
• Patrol rifles (as commonly denominated for law enforcement use) or assault rifles (as defined in Sections 30510 and 30515 of the California Penal Code)
• Wheeled vehicles that are built or modified to provide ballistic protection to their occupants, such as Bearcats or armored personnel carriers.
• Projectile launch platforms, such as 40mm projectile launchers, "bean bag" or specialty impact munition ("SIM") weapons, and "riot guns" used to disperse chemical agents
• Long-Range Acoustic Device (LRAD)

2. Purchase records, invoices, procurement documents and other documents sufficient to show any and all disbursement of public funds for the acquisition by your agency since July 1, 2018 of explosives and pyrotechnics, such as "flash bang" grenades and explosive breaching tools, and chemical weapons such as "teargas" and "pepper balls".

3. Records of deployment by your agency since January 1, 2020 of projectile launch platforms, such as 40mm projectile launchers, "bean bag" or specialty impact munition ("SIM") weapons, and "riot guns" used to disperse chemical agents; explosives and pyrotechnics, such as "flashbang" grenades and explosive breaching tools; and chemical weapons such as "teargas" and "pepper balls".

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.

If you would like to discuss this request, please feel free to reach out to me, John Lindsay-Poland, American Friends Service Committee, at 510-282-8983.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

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,

John Lindsay-Poland

Hello Commander Liu,

I was directed to you from Records, and just left a voicemail with you. We sent a Public Records Act request on November 1 to apardini@cityofepa.org, and haven't heard back about it. I've copied the original message below. Can you help us get this request attended to? Please don't hesitate to reach out with any clarifying questions to John Lindsay-Poland by responding to this message, or by phone at 510-282-8983.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Tu
for John Lindsay-Poland
American Friends Service Committee

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Subject: California Public Records Act Request: Purchase and 'less lethal' deployment records (East Palo Alto Police Department)
From: requests@muckrock.com
To: apardini@cityofepa.org
Date: Mon, 01 Nov 2021 15:06:19 -0000
Message-ID:
<163577917959.4549.4164030901330760592@80d3fd44-a649-4801-a489-968143b46024.prvt.dyno.rt.heroku.com>

East Palo Alto Police Department
PRA Office
141 Demeter Street
East Palo Alto, CA 94303

November 1, 2021

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the California Public Records Act, I hereby request the following records:

1. Purchase records, invoices, procurement documents and other documents sufficient to show any and all disbursement of public funds for the acquisition by your agency since July 1, 2015 of any of the following:
• Firearms of .50 caliber or greater
• Patrol rifles (as commonly denominated for law enforcement use) or assault rifles (as defined in Sections 30510 and 30515 of the California Penal Code)
• Wheeled vehicles that are built or modified to provide ballistic protection to their occupants, such as Bearcats or armored personnel carriers.
• Projectile launch platforms, such as 40mm projectile launchers, "bean bag" or specialty impact munition ("SIM") weapons, and "riot guns" used to disperse chemical agents
• Long-Range Acoustic Device (LRAD)

2. Purchase records, invoices, procurement documents and other documents sufficient to show any and all disbursement of public funds for the acquisition by your agency since July 1, 2018 of explosives and pyrotechnics, such as "flash bang" grenades and explosive breaching tools, and chemical weapons such as "teargas" and "pepper balls".

3. Records of deployment by your agency since January 1, 2020 of projectile launch platforms, such as 40mm projectile launchers, "bean bag" or specialty impact munition ("SIM") weapons, and "riot guns" used to disperse chemical agents; explosives and pyrotechnics, such as "flashbang" grenades and explosive breaching tools; and chemical weapons such as "teargas" and "pepper balls".

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.

If you would like to discuss this request, please feel free to reach out to me, John Lindsay-Poland, American Friends Service Committee, at 510-282-8983.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

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,

John Lindsay-Poland

View request history, upload responsive documents, and report problems here:
https://www.muckrock.com/

Filed via MuckRock.com
E-mail (Preferred): requests@muckrock.com

For mailed responses, please address (see note):
MuckRock News
DEPT MR 120800
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.

Dear Commander Liu,

Thank you for your response to my Public Records Act request for purchase and deployment records for certain equipment used by the East Palo PD. I appreciate it.

Regarding my Request #2, for purchase records for "explosives and pyrotechnics, such as "flash bang" grenades and explosive breaching tools, and chemical weapons such as "teargas" and "pepper balls"", can you clarify whether you conducted a search for these records and found no responsive records?

Regarding my Request #3 for deployment records: We are not seeking investigatory records per se, but records indicating deployment of this equipment. While some agencies to which we've submitted this request have supplied incident reports (see attached), others have supplied a list or summary of deployments of the equipment (also see attached). Would you consider releasing such records?

Sincerely,
John Lindsay-Poland

Dear Commander Liu,

I just left voicemail with you referencing John's email from December 7, which I've included below. We're looking forward to hearing back from you soon.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Tu
American Friends Service Committee

---------------------------------------------------------------
From: "requests@muckrock.com"
<requests@muckrock.com>
To: jliu@cityofepa.org
Cc: "Rafael Alvarado" <ralvarado@cityofepa.org>,
"Lance Bayer" <lbayer@cityofepa.org>
Date: Tue, 07 Dec 2021 17:35:23 -0000
Message-ID:
<163889852367.6832.17791913558407305742@f968d087-eef2-489f-bd63-212f50d08a5f.prvt.dyno.rt.heroku.com>

East Palo Alto Police Department
PRA Office
141 Demeter Street
East Palo Alto, CA 94303

December 7, 2021

This is a follow up to a previous request:

Dear Commander Liu,

Thank you for your response to my Public Records Act request for purchase and deployment records for certain equipment used by the East Palo PD. I appreciate it.

Regarding my Request #2, for purchase records for "explosives and pyrotechnics, such as "flash bang" grenades and explosive breaching tools, and chemical weapons such as "teargas" and "pepper balls"", can you clarify whether you conducted a search for these records and found no responsive records?

Regarding my Request #3 for deployment records: We are not seeking investigatory records per se, but records indicating deployment of this equipment. While some agencies to which we've submitted this request have supplied incident reports (see attached), others have supplied a list or summary of deployments of the equipment (also see attached). Would you consider releasing such records?

Sincerely,
John Lindsay-Poland

Dear Commander Liu,

Thanks so much for your help with this request. We appreciate it.

Sincerely,
John Lindsay-Poland