Facial recognition/false arrest lawsuits
It is a clone of this request.
| Submitted | Dec. 28, 2020 |
| Due | Jan. 11, 2021 |
| Est. Completion | None |
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Communications
From: Todd Feathers
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Texas Public Information Act, I hereby request the following records:
1) Copies of any notices of potential legal action (such as an intent to sue letter), formal legal complaints, or comparable documents sent to the department regarding cases of alleged misidentification by police facial recognition technology since Jan. 1, 2018. This should include notices/complaints regarding civil lawsuits that are open as well as closed. In the event the department does not have the record-keeping capacity to locate cases relating to a category such as police facial recognition false identifications, I ask that you inquire with department employees who would be knowledgeable about such cases in order to identify responsive documents.
2) Any settlement documents relating to cases responsive to the above aspect of this request.
3) A list, database, spreadsheet, or comparable document detailing each false arrest lawsuit brought against the law enforcement department(s) represented by your agency since Jan. 1, 2018, including, where available, the name of the plaintiff, the name of the defendant, the court docket number, date filed, date settled, settlement amount, and any other details available through the department's case management system.
I ask that all fees be waived as I am a journalist and I intend to use the requested records to publish articles in the public interest and not for any commercial purpose.
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, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Todd Feathers
From: Fort Worth City Attorney
Hello,
Thank you for your email.
Effective March 25, 2020, the City of Fort Worth made changes to the way we receive public information requests. For your request to be considered a formal request that is subject to the Public Information Act, it must be submitted by one of the following FOUR approved delivery methods:
Use our Preferred Method:
By submitting a request through the City's interactive portal:
https://www.fortworthtexas.gov/departments/citysecretary/records
OR
You may also email it to the following address:
publicinformationadministrator@fortworthtexas.gov<mailto:publicinformationadministrator@fortworthtexas.gov>
OR
Mail your request, addressed exactly as you see below, to our designated mailing address which is:
Officer for Public Information OR Public Information Administrator
200 Texas St., Suite 3614
Fort Worth, TX 76102
AND LASTLY
Deliver your request in person:
City Secretary's Office
200 Texas St., Suite 3614
Fort Worth, TX 76102
You may also search for records that are available online by going to and choosing https://www.fortworthtexas.gov/departments/citysecretary/records
Open Data Portal.
The manner in which your request was received is considered informal and will be forwarded to the appropriate department, however, it does not meet the requirements of the Public Information Act. Therefore, if you desire your request to be considered a formal request, please resubmit it in one of the designated manners listed above.
Have a blessed day!
Sincerely,
Tammi Castillo
Administrative Technician
City Secretary's Office
200 Texas Street - Suite 3614
Fort Worth, Texas 76102
City of Fort Worth - Working together to build a
Strong community
[http://www.cfwnet.org/customerservice/images/FW-Logo-c-Registered_small.jpg]
From: Todd Feathers
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Texas Public Information Act, I hereby request the following records:
1) Copies of any notices of potential legal action (such as an intent to sue letter), formal legal complaints, or comparable documents sent to the department regarding cases of alleged misidentification by police facial recognition technology since Jan. 1, 2018. This should include notices/complaints regarding civil lawsuits that are open as well as closed. In the event the department does not have the record-keeping capacity to locate cases relating to a category such as police facial recognition false identifications, I ask that you inquire with department employees who would be knowledgeable about such cases in order to identify responsive documents.
2) Any settlement documents relating to cases responsive to the above aspect of this request.
3) A list, database, spreadsheet, or comparable document detailing each false arrest lawsuit brought against the law enforcement department(s) represented by your agency since Jan. 1, 2018, including, where available, the name of the plaintiff, the name of the defendant, the court docket number, date filed, date settled, settlement amount, and any other details available through the department's case management system.
I ask that all fees be waived as I am a journalist and I intend to use the requested records to publish articles in the public interest and not for any commercial purpose.
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, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Todd Feathers
From: Fort Worth City Attorney
Dear Todd Feathers:
As part of the unprecedented response to coronavirus in Texas, and in light of the Governor’s disaster declaration, most of the administrative departments of the City of Fort Worth are minimally staffed by a skeleton crew, while remaining staff is working remotely or involved directly in the public health or epidemic response. The City has very limited access to its records to respond to public information requests at this time. This notice has been posted on the City’s website. During the period this notice is posted, the City of Fort Worth is not considered to be open for business for purposes of the time deadlines under the Texas Public Information Act.
In accordance with the guidance issued by the Office of the Texas Attorney General, this is not a “business day” for purposes of Chapter 552 of Texas Government Code, the Public Information Act, and all PIA related processes are currently paused. On the date that the City resumes “business days” under more normal operations, all previously received requests will resume processing and any requests submitted during the skeleton crew day period will be officially noted as being received and begin being processed.
Thank you for your interest in public records of the City of Fort Worth, Texas. Your request has been received and is being processed in accordance with Chapter 552 of Texas Government Code, the Public Information Act. Your request was received in this office and given the log number W110379-010421 for tracking purposes.
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 Texas Public Information Act does not require a governmental body to create new information, to do legal research, or to answer questions.
You can monitor the progress of your request under "My Requests" Again, thank you for using the Open Records Center, Public Information Administrator
This is an auto-generated email and has originated from an unmonitored email account. Please DO NOT REPLY
From: Fort Worth City Attorney
A no responsive documents response.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Texas Public Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on Dec. 28, 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: Fort Worth City Attorney
Hello,
Currently, your request shows a completion date of 2/15/21. You can check the status of your request by logging into our interactive portal at https://www.fortworthtexas.gov/departments/citysecretary/records
Have a blessed day!
Sincerely,
Tammi Castillo
Administrative Technician
City Secretary’s Office
200 Texas Street – Suite 3614
Fort Worth, Texas 76102
City of Fort Worth – Working together to build a
Strong community
[http://www.cfwnet.org/customerservice/images/FW-Logo-c-Registered_small.jpg]
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