BLM comms (El Paso Police Department)

In light of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), as of March 16, 2020, the City Attorney’s Office will be operating with a skeleton crew. Under the Texas Public Information Act, skeleton crew days are not considered business days when calculating deadlines under the Act. Any public information requests submitted during this time will be deemed received once the City Attorney’s Office resumes normal scheduling. The City Attorney’s Office is currently scheduled for skeleton crew days through July 8, 2020. Notice of changes to this date will be posted on this website, and notification will be sent on any open requests.


Dear Emma Best:

Thank you for your interest in public records of the City of El Paso. Your request has been received and is being processed in accordance with Chapter 552 of Texas Government Code, the Public Information Act. Your request was given the reference number W073217-062220 for tracking purposes.
Records Requested: To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Texas Public Information Act, I hereby request the following records:

Emails, letters, and memos to or from police/law enforcement unions, the National Guard, or federal officials between May 1, 2020 and the present.

I also request copies of emails containing any of the following: "protest", "protests", "Black Lives Matter", "BLM", "riot", "riots", "antifa", "antifascist", "anti-fascist", or "militia".

I am a member of the news media and request classification as such. I have previously written about the government and its activities, with some reaching over 100,000 readers in outlets such as Gizmodo, MuckRock, Motherboard, Property of the People, Unicorn Riot, and The Outline, among others. As such, as I have a reasonable expectation of publication and my editorial and writing skills are well established. In addition, I discuss and comment on the files online and make them available through non-profits such as the library Internet Archive and the journalist non-profit MuckRock, disseminating them to a large audience. While my research is not limited to this, a great deal of it, including this, focuses on the activities and attitudes of the government itself. As such, it is not necessary for me to demonstrate the relevance of this particular subject in advance.

As my primary purpose is to inform about government activities by reporting on it and making the raw data available, I request that fees be waived.

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, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Emma Best

Upload documents directly: https://https://www.muckrock.comhttps://www.muckrock.com/

Your request will be forwarded to the relevant City department(s) to locate the information you seek and to determine the volume and any costs associated with satisfying your request. You will be contacted about the availability and/or provided with copies of the records in question. PLEASE NOTE: The Texas Public Information Act does not require a governmental body to create new information, to do legal research, or to answer questions.
You can monitor the progress of your request at the link below and you'll receive an email when your request has been completed. Again, thank you for using the Public Information Center.
City of El Paso

Attachments:
Stmnt_of_Est_Cost_for_Ms._Best.pdf (https://u8387778.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=6HtRfOYLt5fXvpttM-2FU1HTa4MC-2BwQiCo1al-2FuGyRckohjgN11LvUOGx1UgHPi70yxZA5iLRkiN39nzE8oheYLnQGgAB14aiCwjiyiXA-2BMI-2FXf8InPqAaVijsaFPWZqFxMorVQQ85Ncz9gJVgF3pdcwD-2FihCRUw76YBszdPvfc5Ip0OeUM6g2t-2F-2FXx5FJcdTpC5XP4o0D3gi1Ff41Qfg-2BDA-3D-3DE6qd_mkuhF6OiN6pt0AO4OkSqtJqmAjZLR2nSxvjwG75sS9WKnCi9eaUlsoe-2Ffm7S-2BXrGtqyP-2BeDUJ05DYwzXx-2F3Efib2NRRHYfj7Z87PPp9-2FLvcZk-2BAzHvH1h1XMZSepIReoVB-2B0fOHtvvUJRfxPVeckV-2BBU3COEk7eBZrshLaxOdMI-2Fh5FQIMwPpQrB4Vz3aED1-2FaTlrxlhVNzingD0JyCpYlXpqC528jhCoJPrHrQIzxFZv8VsMtPX-2FYoEMsMh6mdcMzZizNzC1ln28Y-2B5f8NhkUWUZrkMPwB6SZufii54-2B3F-2BPS01hHU9iIcD-2FJqUxkgDaC4Z3KKQZ1O7FGgDsltyVSl9eu8L27TjMD4yD-2BWg1-2F-2BpVT8hcKkYzePdXuxGv-2BizWMGz3lZ-2BIuWMUZ-2FFMZFThA-3D-3D)

--- Please respond above this line ---

Good morning. Please see the attached letter pertaining to our request.
Mary La Rue
Certified Paralegal
(915) 212-0033