Operation Something Bruin (Georgia)

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Georgia Open Records Act, I hereby request the following records:

Any and all copies of the following related to the multi-agency initiative entitled "Operation Something Bruin":
Written correspondence, contracts, agreements between agencies, budgets, investigative reports, press releases, digital media (photos, videos, etc), and internal investigative documents.

I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as I believe this request is in the public interest. 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.

In the event that fees cannot be waived, 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 3 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Donald Triplett III

Dear Lt. O'Neal,

Thank you for your response and the documents enclosed. I tried calling your office around 4:40 PM this afternoon, but it apparently closes at 4:30 PM. I know your office will be closed for a long weekend due to the 4th, so I'm going to go ahead and email you these follow up questions I have before I forget to contact you again on Monday:

1. Can you send a copy of the attachments to the Memorandum of Agreement that was enclosed? (The attachment list has three: the USFWS' Use of Force Policy, Firearms Policy, and Regional Law Enforcement Office Contact Information.)

2. Is it possible to get a copy of the budget for the Operation (if one exists), as I originally requested?

3. I got your sample invoice, and I estimated the cost of the document search to be around $600 (or 40 hours @ $15 an hour). Is it possible to get a filled-in invoice/estimate for the exact amount? I'm considering paying for the search, but I'd like a written estimate first beforehand.

4. While I consider paying for the complete search of all investigative documents, is it possible to limit the search to just documents/memos compiled that involve internal investigations of the officers involved, if any exist?

I appreciate your time and cooperation in this matter, and I look forward to your reply next week. If you would like, you can try reaching me at (202) 643-4610, however, I will be going out of town next week and may not be able to return phone calls until I return around August.

Thanks,

Donald Triplett

Dear Lt. O'Neal,

I just wanted to follow up about our phone conversation on July 9th. I appreciate you helping me out with this request, and per our conversation, this request is closed.

I will call you in a few months to see how the cases in Georgia are going to determine when I should request the investigative documents.

I appreciate your time in this matter.

Thanks again,
Donald Triplett