Police Liability payout record request from Sun Sentinel (Miami Beach Police Department)

For Your Attention:
The City of Miami Beach Police Department (MBPD) has received your request for Public Records pursuant to Chapter 119 of the Florida Statute.
The MBPD will begin processing your request at its earliest convenience. Please be advised that requests seeking copies of official reports, photographs, audio and video recordings may take a substantial period of time to obtain in satisfaction of the request, and such delays are based upon the complexity and volume of records that are being requested. Further, requests which are narrowly tailored and specific may be completed in a shortened time period.
The MBPD will work diligently to fulfill your request as quickly as possible.
Respectfully,

Patrick W. Henry.
[Cropped-for-E-signature-MiamiBeachLogo_Green250px]
Patrick W. Henry, Records Manager
Miami Beach Police Department
Technical Services Division, Records Unit
1100 Washington Avenue, Miami Beach, FL 33139
Tel: 305-673-7776, ext 23035 / Fax: 305-673-7879
patrickhenry@miamibeachfl.gov<mailto:patrickhenry@miamibeachfl.gov>

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We are in receipt of your Public Records Request, and it has been forwarded to the following department(s) for handling: <br><br> Legal <br><br>Information requested: Pursuant to the Florida Sunshine Law, I hereby request the following records:
I hope this message finds you well. This is a public records request from a member of a media organization, pursuant to Florida Statute 119. In furtherance of an article investigating police misconduct payouts across the county over the past decades, we are seeking documents that show how much your municipal corporation, its legal representatives, or its liability insurance carriers have paid out in civil court since 01/01/2010 because of the actions of its police professionals.
To that end, we kindly request the electronic delivery of an excel spreadsheet with the following information:
- An identifying number for the claim
- The loss date
- An incident indicator description (such as “excessive force, k-9 bite, false arrest/imprisonment, etc.)
- Incurred expenses
- Incurred liability
- Incurred legal expenses
- Paid legal expenses
- Paid total
- Incurred total
This records pull should be interpreted to cover both federal and state court claims. If some of the above figures are not available because of your accounting practices, please endeavor to provide us with as full a picture as possible of the $$$ paid out by your municipality due to lawsuits against its police officers over the past ten years.
Upon request, we can provide a spreadsheet obtained from the BSO that can serve as an example and guide for what we are looking for. Please do feel free to reach out via email or phone should you have any questions.
Very Best
Mario Alejandro Ariza
Federal Courts Reporter
South Florida Sun Sentinel
786.210.6548
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 10 business days.
<br><br>Please be advised that if the nature and/or volume of the public records requested to be inspected, examined or copied requires extensive use of information technology resources and/or extensive clerical or supervisory assistance by City personnel, you will be required to pay a service charge for the costs incurred for such extensive use of resources and/or assistance. The City will charge 15 cents for each copy provided, as well as for extensive labor costs (labor exceeding 30 minutes) involved in the responding to the records request.<br><br>

Note that your Public Records Request has been assigned PRR #27688 and IT PRR# (not applicable) . <br><br>Please reference said PRR # when communicating with the City regarding your request.

If you have any questions, please contact the Office of the City Clerk at (305) 673-7411 or researchrequest@miamibeachfl.gov .

Hi Aleks,

The requestor is asking for a status on this request.

Thank you,
Carmen

Carmen:

What is this?

MIAMIBEACH
Aleksandr Boksner, Deputy City Attorney

Good afternoon Mr. Ariza,

Please be advised that Chapter 119 of the Florida Statutes only provides a right of access to inspect and copy existing public records and does not mandate that an agency create new records in order to accommodate a request for records from the agency. Additionally, an agency is not required to provide information concerning its records, nor is an agency required to answer questions regarding its records. (See In re Report of the Supreme Court Workgroup on Public Records, 825 So.2d 889 (Fla. 2002); Op. Atty. Gen. Fla. 80-57 (1980).

There are no responsive records to your request. Accordingly, the City of Miami Beach has no further public records to provide.

Thank you,

[Description: City of Kindness Option-02]
Carmen
MIAMIBEACH
Carmen Hernandez, CMC
Office Associate IV
OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK
1700 Convention Center Drive, Miami Beach, FL 33139
Tel: 305-673-7000 Ext 6508 / carmenhernandez@miamibeachfl.gov<mailto:carmenhernandez@miamibeachfl.gov>

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We are committed to providing excellent public service and safety to all who live, work and play in our vibrant, tropical, historic community.

Carmen:

What is this?

MIAMIBEACH
Aleksandr Boksner, Deputy City Attorney