Police department misconduct allegations and disciplinary proceedings
It is a clone of this request.
Submitted | June 18, 2020 |
Est. Completion | None |
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Communications
From: Beryl Lipton
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the New York Freedom of Information Law, I hereby request the following records:
All materials and records describing and sufficient to show/disclose all allegations of misconduct made and all disciplinary proceedings taken against any officer, employee, or representative of this policing agency.
As described in the New York Freedom of Information Law, a record is "any information kept, held, filed, produced or reproduced by, with or for an agency or the state legislature, in any physical form whatsoever including, but not limited to, reports, statements, examinations, memoranda, opinions, folders, files, books, manuals, pamphlets, forms, papers, designs, drawings, maps, photos, letters, microfilms, computer tapes or discs, rules, regulations or codes." Records kept in a digital or electronic form are also records, would be responsive to this request, and should be provided.
These records are typically required to be retained under the New York State Records Retention and Disposition Schedule MU-1 (http://www.archives.nysed.gov/records/retention_mu-1), including, but not limited to, item no. 365, which includes: "Investigative records and disciplinary proceedings, including but not limited to statement of charge, transcript of hearing, notice of decision, letter of termination or resignation, letter of reinstatement, record of appeal procedure, and correspondence." While materials under that schedule have a set retention of 3 years after the final decision rendered, this request and materials responsive to it include *all* records held in the possession of any office or individual employed or formerly employed by this policing agency, including those kept off-site, in digital form, and in personnel files.
Please note that any failure to provide all potentially-responsive materials and/or the destruction of materials potentially responsive to this request would be a violation of the spirit of the New York Freedom of Information Law, as well as unlawful under the New York FOIL and the terms of the attached litigation hold notice.
Materials responsive to this request include — but are not limited to — all complaints, reports, records of discipline and penalties, aggregate collections of complaint and disciplinary materials (spreadsheets, databases), investigatory materials, relevant related correspondence, photographs, video, other related evidence, proof of discipline or fulfillment of penalties, and all personnel materials (including those used in promotion, contract, and other employment negotiations and considerations) that reference or utilize misconduct allegations or disciplinary materials of any sort.
Materials responsive to this request include all complaints— internal, external, and civilian — and include records disclosing the names, badge numbers, and personnel identification of each officer involved and/or serving as a witness, as well as all available details of the incident/complaint: date, time, location, nature of the incident, description of the incident, nature of the investigation, investigatory materials, the disposition of the case, and any subsequent materials related to the execution of any resultant discipline. Responsive materials include all complaints and allegations against any officer, employee, or representative of this policing agency, regardless of whether that complaint or allegation resulted in any investigation or disciplinary action.
Responsive materials also include all records of use of force by officers, including records disclosing the names, badge numbers, and personnel identification of each officer involved and/or serving as a witness, as well as all available details of the incident: date, time, location, nature of the incident, description of the incident, nature of the use of force, subsequent investigatory materials related to the use of force, the disposition of any investigation into the incident, and any subsequent materials related to the use of force.
Please provide materials on a rolling basis, beginning with materials created during the following timeframes:
• January 1, 2010 - June 15, 2020
• January 1, 2000 - January 1, 2010
• January 1, 1990 - January 1, 2000
• January 1, 1980 - January 1, 1990
• January 1, 1970 - January 1, 1980
Pursuant to NYCRR Section 1401.5(c)(1), should any of this request be unclear or lack sufficient description for your office, please provide direction that would enable this requester to request records reasonably described. Please also note that the New York FOIL states: "An agency shall not deny a request on the basis that the request is voluminous or that locating or reviewing the requested records or providing the requested copies is burdensome because the agency lacks sufficient staffing or on any other basis if the agency may engage an outside professional service to provide copying, programming or other services required to provide the copy...." Please also see FOIL AO 19671, an Advisory Opinion from the Committee on Open Government [https://docs.dos.ny.gov/coog/ftext/f19671.htm].
If your office has questions about this request or would like to discuss it for any reason, please contact this requester via the contact email address provided and feel free to follow up by phone: 617-299-1832. This request is being submitted to each policing agency in New York as part of a collaborative project led by MuckRock and involving multiple other educational and journalistic partners and participants. For this reason, over the lifetime of this request, your agency may interface with individuals not listed on this initial communication.
This request is being made in the public interest by a news organization as part of non-profit (not commercial) journalistic work and research on behalf of the public. 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 and as part of the necessary negotiations for successful processing. As far as it is possible, please fulfill elements of this request 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 5 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Beryl Lipton
From: Mount Hope Town Police Department
We are in receipt of your FOIL request dated 6/18/20. As soon as your
request is complete, you will be notified. Due to having to try and locate
in multiple locations and then photocopy said records, we anticipate being
able to send the requested records within 120 days.
Additionally no records are digistized so we will be unable to email or
store them on a cd-rom. Any records located will have to be photocopied.
There is a .25 per page fee. Please contact us if you have any further
questions or concerns.
Thank you.
--
Paul J. Rickard, MPA
FBI NA 221
Chief of Police
Town of Mount Hope Police Department
7 Baker Street
Otisville, New York 10963
(845) 386-8886 - Phone
(845) 386-1325 - Fax
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE:
This e-mail message (including any and all attachments) is covered by the
Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 U.S.C. §§ 2510-2521, and is
intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may
contain information that is privileged, confidential and/or otherwise
protected from disclosure. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure
dissemination, copying, forwarding or distribution is prohibited. If you
are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail
and destroy all copies of the original message. If you are the intended
recipient but do not wish to receive communications through this medium,
please so advise the sender immediately.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following New York Freedom of Information Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 18, 2020. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Mount Hope Town Police Department
This is our second response to your request.
We are in receipt of your FOIL request dated 6/18/20. As soon as your
request is complete, you will be notified. Due to having to try and locate
in multiple locations and then photocopy said records, we anticipate being
able to send the requested records within 120 days.
Additionally no records are digistized so we will be unable to email or
store them on a cd-rom. Any records located will have to be photocopied.
There is a .25 per page fee. Please contact us if you have any
further questions or concerns.
Thank you.
Paul Rickard, MPA Town of Mount Hope Police Chief 7 Baker St Otisville, NY
10963 (845)386-8886
From: Mount Hope Town Police Department
This is our second response.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following New York Freedom of Information Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 18, 2020. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Mount Hope Town Police Department
July 20, 2020
Subject: Re: New York Freedom of Information Law Request: Police department
misconduct allegations and disciplinary proceedings
This is our *THIRD* response to your request.
We are in receipt of your FOIL request dated 6/18/20. As soon as your
request is complete, you will be notified. Due to having to try and locate
in multiple locations and then photocopy said records,
* we anticipate beingable to send the requested records within 120 days.*
Additionally no records are digistized so we will be unable to email or
store them on a cd-rom. Any records located will have to be photocopied.
There is a .25 per page fee. Please contact us if you have any
further questions or concerns.
Thank you.
Paul Rickard, MPA Town of Mount Hope Police Chief 7 Baker St Otisville, NY
10963 (845)386-8886
--
Paul J. Rickard, MPA
FBI NA 221
Chief of Police
Town of Mount Hope Police Department
7 Baker Street
Otisville, New York 10963
(845) 386-8886 - Phone
(845) 386-1325 - Fax
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE:
This e-mail message (including any and all attachments) is covered by the
Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 U.S.C. §§ 2510-2521, and is
intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may
contain information that is privileged, confidential and/or otherwise
protected from disclosure. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure
dissemination, copying, forwarding or distribution is prohibited. If you
are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail
and destroy all copies of the original message. If you are the intended
recipient but do not wish to receive communications through this medium,
please so advise the sender immediately.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following New York Freedom of Information Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 18, 2020. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following New York Freedom of Information Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 18, 2020. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following New York Freedom of Information Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 18, 2020. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Mount Hope Town Police Department
This is our *FOURTH* response to your request.
We are in receipt of your FOIL request dated 6/18/20. As soon as your
request is complete, you will be notified. Due to having to try and locate
in multiple locations and then photocopy said records,
* we anticipate being able to send the requested records within 120 days.*
Additionally no records are digistized so we will be unable to email or
store them on a cd-rom. Any records located will have to be photocopied.
There is a .25 per page fee. Please contact us if you have any
further questions or concerns.
Thank you.
Paul Rickard, MPA Town of Mount Hope Police Chief 7 Baker St Otisville, NY
10963 (845)386-8886
--
Paul J. Rickard, MPA
FBI NA 221
Chief of Police
Town of Mount Hope Police Department
7 Baker Street
Otisville, New York 10963
(845) 386-8886 - Phone
(845) 386-1325 - Fax
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE:
This e-mail message (including any and all attachments) is covered by the
Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 U.S.C. §§ 2510-2521, and is
intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may
contain information that is privileged, confidential and/or otherwise
protected from disclosure. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure
dissemination, copying, forwarding or distribution is prohibited. If you
are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail
and destroy all copies of the original message. If you are the intended
recipient but do not wish to receive communications through this medium,
please so advise the sender immediately.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following New York Freedom of Information Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 18, 2020. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following New York Freedom of Information Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 18, 2020. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following New York Freedom of Information Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 18, 2020. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following New York Freedom of Information Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 18, 2020. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Mount Hope Town Police Department
We have been trying to reach you about this request. We anticipate being
able to fill it with 60 days. We still have some questions. No one has
returned our phone calls.
Please contact us.
--
Paul J. Rickard, MPA
FBI NA 221
Chief of Police
Town of Mount Hope Police Department
7 Baker Street
Otisville, New York 10963
(845) 386-8886 - Phone
(845) 386-1325 - Fax
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE:
This e-mail message (including any and all attachments) is covered by the
Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 U.S.C. §§ 2510-2521, and is
intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may
contain information that is privileged, confidential and/or otherwise
protected from disclosure. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure
dissemination, copying, forwarding or distribution is prohibited. If you
are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail
and destroy all copies of the original message. If you are the intended
recipient but do not wish to receive communications through this medium,
please so advise the sender immediately.
From:
Please be advised your FOIL request dated June 18, 2020 is ready.
There are 91 pages responsive to your request at .25 cents per page = $22.75
total due at pick up.
Regards,
Kathleen A. Myers, Town Clerk
Town of Mount Hope
1706 Route 211 West
Otisville NY 10963
845-386-1460 (office)
845-386-1100 (fax)
From: Beryl Lipton
Hello, Ms. Myers —
I apologize for not having provided payment at the time it was requested, and I hope you've been well since we last exchanged messages.
We are still very interested in these records, and I'm wondering whether you could please confirm that the fees associated with all of the responsive materials remains at $22.75.
Thank you very much for your time and help.
Best wishes,
Beryl
From: Mount Hope Town Police Department
This request has been ready for 11 months. If you wish to obtain these
documents, please send a money order for $22.75 for the documents and an
additional $5 for mailing fee.
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