OIS - Firearms Discharges

Dear Michael Owens:

Thank you for your interest in open public records of Jersey City OPRA Center.  This will serve to acknowledge receipt of your Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request.  Your request was received in this office on 3/6/2023.  Kindly refer to the reference number D001025-030623 when communicating with our office in this regard.  Your request mentioned:
To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the New Jersey Open Public Records Act, I hereby request the following records:

1) Incident-level data on Jersey City (NJ) Police Department officers’ drawing their weapons/firearms in the course of their duty: I request data from years 2000 to 2020, including the time, date, and street address (e.g. 123 Main St) for all incidents where an officer drew their weapon/firearm;
2) Incident-level data on the Jersey City (NJ) Police Department officers’ discharging their weapons/firearms in the course of their duty: I request data from years 2000 to 2020, including the time, date, and street address (e.g. 123 Main St) for all incidents where an officer discharged their firearm;
3) If incident-level data on the Jersey City (NJ) Police Department officers’ discharging their firearms in the course of duty from years 2000 to 2020 inclusive is available, I also request associated data on whether the shootings by the officers were lethal (i.e. suspects or civilians died as a result of gunshots from officers’ weapons) or were non-lethal (i.e. suspects or civilians were shot but did not die); and
4) Demographic data on the officers and suspects or civilians involved in each incident of Jersey City (NJ) Police Department officers drawing, discharging, and/or striking (lethal and non-lethal) of suspects or civilians.

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 7 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Michael Owens

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Your request will be forwarded to the relevant City 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 State Public Information Act does not require a governmental body to create new information, to do legal research, or to answer questions.
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Jersey City, NJ

--- Please respond above this line ---

RE: OPEN PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST of March 6, 2023, Reference # D001025-030623

Dear Mr. Owens,

The City received a public information request from you on March 6, 2023. Your request mentioned: The City was unable to locate records dating back to 2000, but it has reviewed its files and has located records responsive to your request. Please log in to the Jersey City OPRA Center at the following link to retrieve the use of Force Reports dating back to 2012:

Pursuant to the New Jersey Open Public Records Act, I hereby request the following records:

1) Incident-level data on Jersey City (NJ) Police Department officers’ drawing their weapons/firearms in the course of their duty: I request data from years 2000 to 2020, including the time, date, and street address (e.g. 123 Main St) for all incidents where an officer drew their weapon/firearm;
2) Incident-level data on the Jersey City (NJ) Police Department officers’ discharging their weapons/firearms in the course of their duty: I request data from years 2000 to 2020, including the time, date, and street address (e.g. 123 Main St) for all incidents where an officer discharged their firearm;
3) If incident-level data on the Jersey City (NJ) Police Department officers’ discharging their firearms in the course of duty from years 2000 to 2020 inclusive is available, I also request associated data on whether the shootings by the officers were lethal (i.e. suspects or civilians died as a result of gunshots from officers’ weapons) or were non-lethal (i.e. suspects or civilians were shot but did not die); and
4) Demographic data on the officers and suspects or civilians involved in each incident of Jersey City (NJ) Police Department officers drawing, discharging, and/or striking (lethal and non-lethal) of suspects or civilians.

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.
Open Public Records Act - D001025-030623
These reports are not limited to the use of firearms by police officers, but such incidents, if any occurred, will be contained in these reports.
This OPRA request is now deemed closed.
Sincerely,

John Hallanan
Deputy City Clerk
Office of City Clerk