Police Records Request

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Kentucky Open Records Act "Ky.Rev.Stat..Ann. 61.870 to.884", I hereby request the following records:

I request the police report regarding the below-listed incident.

I also request all body-worn camera videos of the below-listed incident.

Incident Details:
Incident Date: 03/20/2021
Suspect Name: Zoe Boatright or Zoe Boatwright
Charge: Driving Under The Influence

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.

This request has been mailed. Please provide your response digitally with the email address on this request. Please be sure to enter the email address exactly as it is shown, as I will not receive your response if it is entered incorrectly.

Please do not mail anything to the address listed on this request. This request was submitted via a request tracking service. Please advise me if you need to mail a document via email, and I will provide you with the address to do so.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter.

I look forward to receiving your response to this request within three days of your receipt of this letter, as required by the Kentucky Open Records Act.

Respectfully Submitted,

Mr. Hayden Hodges

Good Afternoon Mr. Prince:

Thank you for your email. KRS 61.168(2) permits disclosure of body-worn camera video upon request unless it meets a certain requirement within the statute.

Additionally, not all parts of the video are exempt from disclosure, even though one part may be.

Pursuant to KRS 61.878(4), the FST video may need to be redacted, but that does not automatically exempt the other parts of the video (booking, transport, etc).

Please provide the redacted video pursuant to the aforementioned statute.

Sincerely,
Mr. Hayden Hodges

Good Afternoon,

I have reviewed the exemptions that are permitted pursuant to the Kentucky Open Records Act. However, there is no exemption for an active criminal investigation, unless there is litigation against an agency. Please provide the section of the statue if you believe otherwise.

Please provide the requested records. I will file an appeal with the Attorney General if you either do not provide records or present a valid statute exempting them from disclosure.

Respectfully,
Mr. Hayden Hodges

To Whom It May Concern:

I hereby appeal the action of Jeremy Prince (herein referred to as "Mr. Prince") of the Graves County Sheriff's Office on April 20th, 2021.

This appeal is made pursuant to the Kentucky Open Records Act.

Statement of Facts:

On April 13th, 2021, Mr. Hayden Hodges (herein referred to as "Mr. Hodges") filed an open records request with the Graves County Sheriff's Office for a police report and body-worn camera video regarding a DUI arrest.

On April 19th, 2021, Mr. Prince responded via email to Mr. Hodges and provided a copy of the police report regarding the incident and provided a copy of KRS 189A.100. On the same day, Mr. Hodges responded stating that the statute only covers field sobriety videos. It does not exempt the remaining parts of the incident (booking, transport, search, etc).

On April 19th, 2021, Mr. Prince responded to this correspondence and then stated that the department was withholding the records because of an active criminal investigation.

Statement of Appeal and Relief Requested:

I appeal the action of Mr. Prince for the following reasons.

Reason #1:

KRS 189A.100 only exempts field sobriety videos and not other parts of the video. Pursuant to KRS 61.878(4), the agency is required to provide other parts of a record, even if one part is exempt from disclosure.

Relief Requested #1:

I request that you find the department violated the law when they refused to produce the redacted video which does not contain the exempt information. The agency is required to produce these records pursuant to KRS 61.878(4).

Reason #2:

KRS 61.878(1)(h) only exempts criminal records that would "harm the agency by revealing the identity of informants not otherwise known or by premature release of information to be used in a prospective law enforcement action or administrative adjudication". The agency has not presented evidence to show that there are any informants for this case or if the release of the video would harm the agency.

Additionally, the records are not exempt from the other part of the statute because the law enforcement action at hand is not prospective because the charges have already been filed against the defendant. This statute does not exempt documents regarding an active court case.

Relief Requested #2:

I request that you find the department has no right to withhold the information requested under this statute because they have not presented sufficient evidence to show that the records are part of a "prospective law enforcement action or administrative adjudication".

I additionally request that you find the department violated the law when they refused to produce the redacted video.

Please be advised that pursuant to the Kentucky Open Records Act, I retain all rights to pursue litigation against the agency.

Please reply to this appeal as required by law.

Please acknowledge receipt of this appeal as required by law.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the undersigned.

Respectfully Submitted,
Mr. Hayden Hodges

CC: Mr. Jeremy Prince (w/o enclosures)

Enclosures:
1 -- Communication Regarding Record Request
2 -- Police Report Regarding Incident

Mr. Prince,

An appeal has been filed. You are hereby notified by the correspondence enclosed herein.

Sincerely,
Mr. Hayden Hodges

Appeal:

To Whom It May Concern:

I hereby appeal the action of Jeremy Prince (herein referred to as "Mr. Prince") of the Graves County Sheriff's Office on April 20th, 2021.

This appeal is made pursuant to the Kentucky Open Records Act.

Statement of Facts:

On April 13th, 2021, Mr. Hayden Hodges (herein referred to as "Mr. Hodges") filed an open records request with the Graves County Sheriff's Office for a police report and body-worn camera video regarding a DUI arrest.

On April 19th, 2021, Mr. Prince responded via email to Mr. Hodges and provided a copy of the police report regarding the incident and provided a copy of KRS 189A.100. On the same day, Mr. Hodges responded stating that the statute only covers field sobriety videos. It does not exempt the remaining parts of the incident (booking, transport, search, etc).

On April 19th, 2021, Mr. Prince responded to this correspondence and then stated that the department was withholding the records because of an active criminal investigation.

Statement of Appeal and Relief Requested:

I appeal the action of Mr. Prince for the following reasons.

Reason #1:

KRS 189A.100 only exempts field sobriety videos and not other parts of the video. Pursuant to KRS 61.878(4), the agency is required to provide other parts of a record, even if one part is exempt from disclosure.

Relief Requested #1:

I request that you find the department violated the law when they refused to produce the redacted video which does not contain the exempt information. The agency is required to produce these records pursuant to KRS 61.878(4).

Reason #2:

KRS 61.878(1)(h) only exempts criminal records that would "harm the agency by revealing the identity of informants not otherwise known or by premature release of information to be used in a prospective law enforcement action or administrative adjudication". The agency has not presented evidence to show that there are any informants for this case or if the release of the video would harm the agency.

Additionally, the records are not exempt from the other part of the statute because the law enforcement action at hand is not prospective because the charges have already been filed against the defendant. This statute does not exempt documents regarding an active court case.

Relief Requested #2:

I request that you find the department has no right to withhold the information requested under this statute because they have not presented sufficient evidence to show that the records are part of a "prospective law enforcement action or administrative adjudication".

I additionally request that you find the department violated the law when they refused to produce the redacted video.

Please be advised that pursuant to the Kentucky Open Records Act, I retain all rights to pursue litigation against the agency.

Please reply to this appeal as required by law.

Please acknowledge receipt of this appeal as required by law.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the undersigned.

Respectfully Submitted,
Mr. Hayden Hodges

CC: Mr. Jeremy Prince (w/o enclosures)

Enclosures:
1 -- Communication Regarding Record Request
2 -- Police Report Regarding Incident

Greetings,

Please confirm receipt of the aforementioned appeal.

Thank you.

Very Truly Yours,
Mr. Hayden Hodges

This is a test of the MuckRock system.