Massachusetts Police Data Collection (Fall River Police Department)
| Submitted | Aug. 19, 2021 |
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Communications
From: Samuel Sinyangwe
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Massachusetts Public Records Law, I hereby request the following records:
1. the total number of use of force incidents reported by law enforcement, separated by year and by type of force used from 2013-2016 and 2020 (for example: 27 taser incidents in 2013, 34 taser incidents in 2014, 6 baton incidents in 2013, 3 baton incidents in 2014, etc.)
2. the total number of civilian complaints alleging any form of law enforcement misconduct that were reported and the total number sustained from 2013-2016 and 2020, separated by year (for example: 8 complaints in 2013, 2 complaints sustained in 2013, 4 complaints in 2014, 1 complaint sustained in 2014, etc.)
3. the total number of civilian complaints alleging law enforcement use of excessive force that were reported and the total number sustained from 2013-2016 and 2020, separated by year.
4. the total number of civilian complaints alleging biased policing or racial profiling that were reported and the total number sustained from 2013-2016 and 2020, separated by year.
5. the total number of civilian complaints alleging criminal conduct that were reported and the total number sustained from 2013-2016 and 2020, separated by year.
6. all information reported to the FBI’s National Use-of-Force Data Collection program to date.
7. a list of all officer involved shootings that were directed at a person from 2013-2020 (excluding shootings of animals and accidental discharges that are not directed at a person).
If only partial information is available responsive to one or more of these requests, please provide all of the information that is available.
I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as we believe this request is in the public interest, as suggested but not stipulated by the recommendations of the Massachusetts Supervisor of Public Records. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.
I expect the request to be filled in an accessible format, including for screen readers, which provide text-to-speech for persons unable to read print. Files that are not accessible to screen readers include, for example, .pdf image files as well as physical documents.
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,
Samuel Sinyangwe
From:
Good Afternoon Samuel:
The Fall River Police Department received your e-mail below on August 19th. I'll be assisting with your request.
The Police Department is currently converting their records from paper to electronic format by scanning each individual file. Due to the sensitivity of the contents of the files, this process is taking place in house and is being carried out only by police officers. For that reason, only 2019 through present are in electronic format. Years 2013-2016 are not converted yet and will likely be completed mid-2022. Are you willing to wait until the conversion is complete for those years or can you modify the scope to 2020 only? If you are unable to wait the officers will need to focus solely on this request-as a result we will not be able to waive fees and I will provide a cost estimate.
For item number 6, The FRPD is required to inform the FBI only when an event worth reporting occurs. Since the FRPD began filing reports there have been no incidents to report.
I look forward to your response.
Best,
Nick Macolini
Workers' Compensation Clerk
One Government Center
Fall River, MA 02722
508-324-2650
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image003
From: Samuel Sinyangwe
Hello Nick,
Would you be able to send the records from 2019 to present that are currently in electronic format and then send the converted records once they become available?
Let me know!
Thanks,
Sam
From: Fall River Police Department
Hi Sam,
Thank you for modifying your request. I will prepare 2019-current. I should have this for you by the end of this week/middle of next.
Best,
Nick
From: Fall River Police Department
Hi Sam,
I've attached the use of force data since 2019. I was able to run this in excel however I was limited in what I could produce--the software doesn't allow me to generate this data by year or indicate which year the event occurred so everything since 2019 is combined.
I'm working on the complaints part of the request but due to the limitations of the software I'm having trouble generating the data you need without creating a new document. As you know, the recipient of a public records request is only obligated to produce those documents that already exist and are defined as public records under MGL Ch. 4 Sec 7. There is no obligation to create a new document or seek a document from some other source. I'm only at the Police Department twice a week but I'll revisit when I'm there again on Tuesday.
Best,
Nick
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Use of Force History
From: Fall River Police Department
Good Morning Sam,
I've attached the rest of the data in your request.
For #3, this data would be included with conduct so there is no separate file. For #7, no such records exist that are responsive to this request. As previously discussed, this only includes the data that has been converted to date.
Best,
Nick