Sustained findings since 2017 (South Fulton Police Department)

Dear Dilcia Mercedes:
Thank you for your interest in public records of the City of South Fulton. Your request has been received and is being processed in accordance with the Georgia Open Records Act. Your request was received in this office on 1/20/2023 and given the reference number P000493-012023 for tracking purposes. Records Requested: To Whom It May Concern:

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

To whomsoever it may concern:

Under the Georgia Open Records Act § 50.18.70 et seq.,I am requesting copies of records related to cases of sustained findings of police misconduct at the Internal Affairs Division of the Office of Professional Standards (OPS) of the South Fulton Police, between 2017 and 2022. This includes, but is not limited to, documents, reports, multimedia, body-worn camera footage, arrest filings, and so on. It also includes all documents, notes, correspondence and memoranda evidencing sustained findings reports and investigations, and all communication and correspondence in whatever tangible medium between the officials, the victims and the overseeing agency.

I am requesting digital copies of all responsive 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.

Here, misconduct includes, but is not limited to:

Excessive (unreasonable) force – beatings, manhandling of people in handcuffs, improper use of Tasers, injuries inflicted by police dogs, improper use of deadly force, and other police brutality or disregard for the safety of suspects. It also includes, but is not limited to: physical and verbal abuse, restraints happening unreasonably, coerced or forced confessions, and sexual abuse and assault.

False arrests – pulling over, detention, questioning and searches conducted without any probable cause whatsoever, including cases of planted evidence, racial profiling and trumped-up charges of resisting arrest.

Georgia law clearly provides that, except as otherwise specifically provided, “All public records … shall be open for a personal inspection by any citizen of this state at a reasonable time and place; and those in charge of such records shall not refuse this privilege to any citizen.” O.C.G.A. Moreover, investigative records of a government agency relating to the suspension, firing, or investigation of complaints against a public employee are subject to the Act’s disclosure requirements 10 days after the investigative record is submitted to the agency for action or the investigation is otherwise concluded or terminated.

If this request is denied in whole or in part, we ask that you cite in writing the specific statutory exemption upon which you have relied, as required by law. We also ask that you release all separate portions of otherwise exempt material. Please waive any costs associated with this request, or first inform us about such costs as required by Georgia law.

We recently submitted the same request to your agency and did not respond to the estimate of charges with enough time. I assume the estimate of charges will be the same because the request is the same. As a response to the estimate, we would like your agency to provide an index or a list of cases - indices tend to have the case name, date information and a brief excerpt or summary on what happened. This will help my team narrow down our request so that it is less time consuming.

As you know, the Act requires a response by you within three business days of your receipt of this letter and provides sanctions for non-compliance. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at dilcia19@stanford.edu.

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 3 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Dilcia Mercedes
Your request will be forwarded to the relevant 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 Georgia Open Records Act does not require a governmental body to create new information, to do legal research, or to answer questions.
*Please note, response to public record requests may be slowed due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic conditions and mitigation measures. Thank you for your patience.
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 Open Records Center.
City of South Fulton

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RE: PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST of January 20, 2023, Reference # P000493-012023
Dear Dilcia Mercedes,
The City of South Fulton received a public information request from you on January 20, 2023. Your request mentioned: "To Whom It May Concern:

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

To whomsoever it may concern:

Under the Georgia Open Records Act § 50.18.70 et seq.,I am requesting copies of records related to cases of sustained findings of police misconduct at the Internal Affairs Division of the Office of Professional Standards (OPS) of the South Fulton Police, between 2017 and 2022. This includes, but is not limited to, documents, reports, multimedia, body-worn camera footage, arrest filings, and so on. It also includes all documents, notes, correspondence and memoranda evidencing sustained findings reports and investigations, and all communication and correspondence in whatever tangible medium between the officials, the victims and the overseeing agency.

I am requesting digital copies of all responsive 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.

Here, misconduct includes, but is not limited to:

Excessive (unreasonable) force – beatings, manhandling of people in handcuffs, improper use of Tasers, injuries inflicted by police dogs, improper use of deadly force, and other police brutality or disregard for the safety of suspects. It also includes, but is not limited to: physical and verbal abuse, restraints happening unreasonably, coerced or forced confessions, and sexual abuse and assault.

False arrests – pulling over, detention, questioning and searches conducted without any probable cause whatsoever, including cases of planted evidence, racial profiling and trumped-up charges of resisting arrest.

Georgia law clearly provides that, except as otherwise specifically provided, “All public records … shall be open for a personal inspection by any citizen of this state at a reasonable time and place; and those in charge of such records shall not refuse this privilege to any citizen.” O.C.G.A. Moreover, investigative records of a government agency relating to the suspension, firing, or investigation of complaints against a public employee are subject to the Act’s disclosure requirements 10 days after the investigative record is submitted to the agency for action or the investigation is otherwise concluded or terminated.

If this request is denied in whole or in part, we ask that you cite in writing the specific statutory exemption upon which you have relied, as required by law. We also ask that you release all separate portions of otherwise exempt material. Please waive any costs associated with this request, or first inform us about such costs as required by Georgia law.

We recently submitted the same request to your agency and did not respond to the estimate of charges with enough time. I assume the estimate of charges will be the same because the request is the same. As a response to the estimate, we would like your agency to provide an index or a list of cases - indices tend to have the case name, date information and a brief excerpt or summary on what happened. This will help my team narrow down our request so that it is less time consuming.

As you know, the Act requires a response by you within three business days of your receipt of this letter and provides sanctions for non-compliance. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at dilcia19@stanford.edu.

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 3 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Dilcia Mercedes”
Please allow an additional 5 Days to process your request.
If you have any questions or need additional information, please feel free to contact our office at 470.809.7314.

Regards,

South Fulton Police Department
5539 Old National Hwy
College Park, Georgia 30349

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Please be advised that this request will require substantial time for Internal Affairs (IA) to complete.  IA Personnel indicates that there are approximately 4, 078 files and documents and 1, 180 electronic records that will need to be retrieved, reviewed for redactions, and produced from 2017 to 2022.  IA personnel estimates that it will take approximately 3, 700 hours to perform this request. The hourly rate of the lowest paid Police Department personnel who is capable of such task is $22.12.  The City will incur an estimated labor cost of $81, 844 (3700 x $22.12). Because the cost will exceed $500.00, we will require pre-payment of the estimated costs before completing the request . Please see O.C.G.A. §50-18-71(d)) If you agree to the costs, please advise and an invoice will be sent to you for pre-payment.

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RE: PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST of January 20, 2023, Reference # P000493-012023 Dear Dilcia Mercedes, The City of South Fulton received a public information request from you on February 13,  2023. Your request mentioned: We understand that this is a substantial request. It seems our request was not read in full and my apologies, we buried the lede. Since we've once submitted this request and received that estimate, this was a follow up - what we want is stated below: As a response to the estimate, we would like your agency to provide an index or a list of cases - indices tend to have the case name, date information and a brief excerpt or summary on what happened. This will help my team narrow down our request so that it is less time consuming. Pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71(j), an agency is not required to prepare a report, summary, or compilation of records or data that did not already exist at the time an open records request was made. The City of South Fulton has reviewed its files and has determined there are no responsive documents to your request. If you have any questions or need additional information, please feel free to contact our office at 470.809.7314.

Regards,

South Fulton Police Department
5539 Old National Hwy
College Park, Georgia 30349