Police department misconduct allegations and disciplinary proceedings
It is a clone of this request.
| Submitted | June 17, 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: Freeport Village Police Department
This is to acknowledge receipt of your freedom of information application dated June 14, 2020, regarding the above subject. Please be advised that we are processing your request at this time. Accordingly we will need an additional 20 days to process your request.
Should you require further information, please feel free to contact Mary Muldowney at (516) 377-2419.
You have the right to appeal a denial of the application. You must appeal, in writing to the Board of Trustees of the Village of Freeport within thirty (30) days of the date of the denial. If the Board further denies access, the reason will be given to you in writing within (10) business days of your denial of appeal.
Very truly yours,
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 17, 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: Freeport Village Police Department
This is in response to Freeport's June 17, 2020 reply to your FOIL request.
Freeport will have the requested records on September 30, 2020.
Howard E. Colton, Esq.
Village Attorney
Incorporated Village of Freeport
<x-apple-data-detectors://1/0> 46 North Ocean Avenue
<x-apple-data-detectors://1/0> Freeport, New York 11520
<tel:516-377-2249> 516-377-2249
<tel:516-377-2366> 516-377-2366 (Fax)
<mailto:hcolton@freeportny.gov> hcolton@freeportny.gov
Confidentiality Notice: This communication is from a lawyer and is legally
protected pursuant to the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 U.S.C.
2510, et seq., inter alia, and may contain privileged and confidential
information protected by attorney client and work product privileges or
otherwise legally exempt from disclosure and is intended only for the
individual named. If you are not the intended recipient, you are prohibited
from retaining, reading, disseminating or duplicating any portion of this
e-mail and your receipt of this e-mail is and shall not be deemed a waiver
of any privilege or confidence. If you are not the named recipient and
received this e-mail in error, please immediately notify us by e-mail or
collect telephone call and then completely delete this e-mail.
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From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I'm following up on the following New York Freedom of Information Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 17, 2020. You had previously indicated that it would be completed on Sept. 30, 2020. I wanted to check on the status of my request, and to see if there was a new estimated completion date.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From:
Gentlemen
Your FOIL request is ready to be picked up. The fee is $28.00. Please advise if you would like these documents emailed or if they will be picked up when payment is made.
Michael Smith
Deputy Chief of Police
516-377-2476
From: Beryl Lipton
To Whom It May Concern:
Please find enclosed a check for $28.00 to satisfy the fee associated with the attached public records request.
Thank you.
Village of Freeport
FOIL Office
40 North Ocean Avenue
Freeport, NY 11520
From: Freeport Village Police Department
See attached
Chief Michael Smith
Freeport Police Department
516 377-2476 (Direct)
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