Passenger inspection notes photos reports 2016-11-21
It is a clone of this request.
| Submitted | Nov. 21, 2016 |
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Communications
From: Phil Mocek
To Whom It May Concern:
One or more people who appeared to be transit agency staff but did not identify themselves investigated most or all riders (including me) on the southbound Sounder passenger train from Seattle to Tacoma, including the rear car, at approximately 5:40 p.m. on Monday, November 21, 2016. I do not know of any reason for the man who investigated me to have suspected me of fare evasion. He seemed to believe that I had committed fare evasion, demanding proof that I had not violated the law. I asked if he had reason to suspect me of such, and in response, he admitted that he did not. The man was dressed not in typical train conductor uniform, but in military-style, "tactical" pants and a motorcycle-rider-style jacket similar to those worn by peace officers employed by Washington State Patrol. It seemed an intimidating appearance--not the sort that one would likely expect from friendly and helpful transit staff. Wishing to cooperate with this unknown man and go on about my lawful business without further interference, I searched diligently for such proof of my innocence. During this time, he did not offer to sell fare to me in case I wished to purchase it. I asked him if he would offer to sell fare to those who wished to purchase it. He said that he would not. I asked him if he ever stands at the door to the train to verify that only people who paid the fare board the train. He said that he does not. These admissions indicated to me that his goal was not to ensure that everyone on the train paid the required fare, increasing my anxiety about his investigation of me. I suggested that if he wished to ensure that all passengers paid the fare, selling tickets to those who have not yet paid would be a very effective way to do so.
If this unidentified man was, in fact, a public employee, I wish to review the accuracy of any records related to his unwarranted investigations of me and other presumed-innocent transit riders that your staff created during and as a result of those investigations, to verify the suitability for purpose of the machines your staff apparently use to verify fare payment via methods that are completely invisible to those people who are under investigation, to determine whether your investigatory staff are known to be capable of performing these investigations in a lawful and satisfactory manner, and to discover any reports of malfeasance on the part of these staff.
I have observed that people appearing to be Sound Transit staff regularly photograph and make written notes about some passengers during their investigations.
Pursuant to RCW Ch. 42.56 (Public Records Act), I hereby request the following records:
1. The content of those notebooks used by staff who worked the aforementioned train on the aforementioned date
2. The content of those cameras used by staff who worked the aforementioned train on the aforementioned date
3. Images captured by the aforementioned staff on the aforementioned date that are no longer on their cameras
4. Any electronic "notes" created by the aforementioned staff on the aforementioned date during the course of performing their job duties on that date
5. All reports filed by the aforementioned staff on that date and/or in regard to their work duties on that date
6. E-mail sent or received by the aforementioned staff on the aforementioned date
7. Work-related text messages (i.e., SMS messages) sent or received by the aforementioned staff on the aforementioned date
8. Warnings, notifications, and citations pertaining to suspected fare evasion authored by the aforementioned staff on the aforementioned date
9. Staff shift roster applicable to the aforementioned train on the aforementioned date
10. Records of certification, licensing, bonding, and training of the aforementioned staff
11. Log of use of hand-held transit pass scanner devices (i.e., database of device's RFID contact with cards, etc.) used by the aforementioned staff on the aforementioned date
12. Records of certification of accuracy of the aforementioned hand-held transit pass scanner device
13. Records of software updates to hand-held transit pass scanner device
14. Notes, memos, e-mails, etc., to fare evasion investigation staff concerning fare evasion investigation policies since November 10
Please prevent staff from destroying these public records--some of which were created just minutes or seconds prior to my filing of this request with you--prior to your making them available to the public. RCW 42.56.100 states, "If a public record request is made at a time when such record exists but is scheduled for destruction in the near future, the agency, the office of the secretary of the senate, or the office of the chief clerk of the house of representatives shall retain possession of the record, and may not destroy or erase the record until the request is resolved."
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 5 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Phil Mocek
From: MuckRock.com
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Nov. 21, 2016. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Tennison, Leigh
This will acknowledge your request for the following from November 21, 2016 on the southbound Sounder passenger train from Seattle to Tacoma at approximately 5:40 p.m.:
1. The content of those notebooks used by staff who worked the aforementioned train on the aforementioned date;
2. The content of those cameras used by staff who worked the aforementioned train on the aforementioned date;
3. Images captured by the aforementioned staff on the aforementioned date that are no longer on their cameras;
4. Any electronic "notes" created by the aforementioned staff on the aforementioned date during the course of performing their job duties on that date;
5. All reports filed by the aforementioned staff on that date and/or in regard to their work duties on that date;
6. E-mail sent or received by the aforementioned staff on the aforementioned date;
7. Work-related text messages (i.e., SMS messages) sent or received by the aforementioned staff on the aforementioned date;
8. Warnings, notifications, and citations pertaining to suspected fare evasion authored by the aforementioned staff on the aforementioned date;
9. Staff shift roster applicable to the aforementioned train on the aforementioned date;
10. Records of certification, licensing, bonding, and training of the aforementioned staff;
11. Log of use of hand-held transit pass scanner devices (i.e., database of device's RFID contact with cards, etc.) used by the aforementioned staff on the aforementioned date;
12. Records of certification of accuracy of the aforementioned hand-held transit pass scanner device;
13. Records of software updates to hand-held transit pass scanner device; and,
14. Notes, memos, e-mails, etc., to fare evasion investigation staff concerning fare evasion investigation policies since November 10, 2016.
We received your request on November 22, 2016.
Given our staffs' workload, holiday schedules, and the number of requests we are currently handling, we estimate that it will take another 5-6 weeks to identify and gather responsive records. We will contact you once we have completed our search.
Sincerely,
Leigh Tennison
Assistant to Q'Deene Nagasawa, Public Records Officer
Sound Transit
401 S. Jackson Street
Seattle, WA. 98104
leigh.tennison@soundtransit.org<mailto:leigh.tennison@soundtransit.org>
T: 206.903.7104
F: 206.398.5222
From: MuckRock.com
To Whom It May Concern:
I'm following up on the following Public Records request, copied below, and originally submitted on Nov. 21, 2016. You previously indicated that it would be completed on Jan. 31, 2017. I wanted to let you know that I am still interested in the following documents, and to see if that date was still accurate.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: MuckRock.com
To Whom It May Concern:
I'm following up on the following Public Records request, copied below, and originally submitted on Nov. 21, 2016. You had previously indicated that it would be completed on Jan. 31, 2017. I wanted to check on the status of my request, and to see if there was a new estimated completion date.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Phil Mocek
Dear Sir or Madam,
Please provide a status update on your processing of my Public Records Act request of November 21, 2016. Leigh Tennison at your agency acknowledged my request on December 1, 2016, and stated that you "estimate that it will take another 5-6 weeks to identify and gather responsive records." Ten weeks have now passed, during which I not received any further contact from anyone at your agency regarding this matter.
Cordially,
Phil Mocek
From: Tennison, Leigh
In regards to records request number PD16-557 for records concerning November 21, 2016, your request was forwarded to the Security Operations Center for staff to search and gather responsive records. Listed below are specific responses to your individual requests:
1. The content of those notebooks used by staff who worked the aforementioned train on the aforementioned date.
Sound Transit is not in possession of any responsive records.
2. The content of those cameras used by staff who worked the aforementioned train on the aforementioned date.
Sound Transit is not in possession of any responsive records. Any pictures used for citations and/or warnings would be included with the court packages.
3. Images captured by the aforementioned staff on the aforementioned date that are no longer on their cameras.
Sound Transit is not in possession of any responsive records. Any pictures used for citations and/or warnings would be included with the court packages.
4. Any electronic "notes" created by the aforementioned staff on the aforementioned date during the course of performing their job duties on that date.
Sound Transit is not in possession of any responsive records.
5. All reports filed by the aforementioned staff on that date and/or in regard to their work duties on that date.
Staff located 1 ticket list and 2 daily activity reports totaling 3 pages. All reports filed by staff are attached.
6. E-mail sent or received by the aforementioned staff on the aforementioned date.
Sound Transit is not in possession of any responsive records.
7. Work-related text messages (i.e., SMS messages) sent or received by the aforementioned staff on the aforementioned date.
Sound Transit is not in possession of any responsive records.
8. Warnings, notifications, and citations pertaining to suspected fare evasion authored by the aforementioned staff on the aforementioned date.
Staff located court packages for 1 citations/warnings totaling 6 pages, which are attached. Any drivers' license numbers have been redacted and are exempt from disclosure under RCW 42.56.330(5), RCW 42.56.230 and RCW 9.35.005(1)(c).
9. Staff shift roster applicable to the aforementioned train on the aforementioned date.
Staff located 1 shift roster totaling 1 page. Shift roster is attached.
10. Records of certification, licensing, bonding, and training of the aforementioned staff.
11. Log of use of hand-held transit pass scanner devices (i.e., database of device's RFID contact with cards, etc.) used by the aforementioned staff on the aforementioned date.
Staff located the attached equipment sign-out log totaling 1 pages.
12. Records of certification of accuracy of the aforementioned hand-held transit pass scanner device.
Sound Transit is not in possession of any responsive records. The scanning devices will either read a card or show a failure to read.
13. Records of software updates to hand-held transit pass scanner device.
Sound Transit is not in possession of any responsive records. The application updates itself.
14. Notes, memos, e-mails, etc., to fare evasion investigation staff concerning fare evasion investigation policies since November 10, 2016.
Sound Transit is not in possession of any responsive records.
This completes this response and we are closing this request file.
Sincerely,
Leigh Tennison
Assistant to Q'Deene Nagasawa, Public Records Officer
Sound Transit
401 S. Jackson Street
Seattle, WA. 98104
leigh.tennison@soundtransit.org<mailto:leigh.tennison@soundtransit.org>
T: 206.903.7104
F: 206.398.5222
From: Tennison, Leigh
This is an amended response to include reply to number 10:
10. Records of certification, licensing, bonding, and training of the aforementioned staff.
Sound Transit is not in possession of any responsive records.
This completes our response and we are closing this request file.
Sincerely,
Leigh Tennison
Assistant to Q'Deene Nagasawa, Public Records Officer
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