Use of force (response to resistance) guidance, policies, and data (Napa County Sheriff)
| Tracking # |
20-278 |
| Multi Request | Use of force (response to resistance) guidance, policies, and data |
| Submitted | Aug. 5, 2020 |
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Communications
From: Beryl Lipton
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Florida Sunshine Law, I hereby request the following records related to this agency's policies on and reporting of uses of force and responses to resistance:
POLICIES
Any and all policies guiding appropriate and inappropriate uses of force by any member or representative of this agency. These may also include “Response to Resistance” policies and similar guidance.
Please also provide all policies regarding the use of lethal, less-lethal, and non-lethal weapons (for example: TASERs pepper ball guns, rubber bullets, gases, sprays, water, etc.), including all policies regarding borrowing, accessing, or assuming responsibility for such weapons, tools, and ammunition.
Please also provide all policies or guidance related to reporting or tracking discharges from or uses of such weapons, as well as any other applicable policies or directives related to the acquisition, use, and reporting of weapons or tools.
Please also provide all policies and guidance used to evaluate any use of force or adjudicate administrative and internal investigations into any use of force or weapon discharge.
REPORTING GUIDANCE
Any and all instructions and guidance related to the reporting of uses of force by any member or representative of this agency.
FORMS, CODES, and OTHER GUIDANCE
All forms, codes, guides, and guidance used in the reporting and review of uses of force or weapons, including:
Any list of codes or definitions for terms or tags used in the reporting, collection, or review of uses of force.
A blank version of each form, log, and other documentation used to report or track uses of force by this agency.
A blank version of each form, log, and other documentation used to report or track the borrowing or use of lethal, less-lethal, and non-lethal weapons
A blank version of each form, log, and other documentation used to report or track any discharge of force from firearms, tools, or weapons employed by this agency
A copy of any guidance, requirements, laws, and policies issued by the state, including those issued as part of grant or other funding requirements, regarding this agency’s responsibilities for reportings uses of force or weapons
A copy of any guidance, requirements, laws, and policies issued by the federal government, including those issued as part of grant or other funding requirements, regarding this agency’s responsibilities for reportings uses of force or weapons
USE OF FORCE DATA
For the period from January 1, 2019 through December 31, 2019 and the period from January 1, 2020 through July 31, 2020, data on the each use of force by representatives of this agency, including but not limited to:
Date, time: The date (month, day, year) and time of the incident
Location: Street address, block, and other relevant location information
Subject(s) information: race, ethnicity, national origin, age, gender, resultant or related injuries sustained or alleged, weapon type (if applicable) in the possession of each involved individual, arrests or charges associated with the incident
Officer information (for each involved officer): employee number or other unique identifier used for the officer, race, resultant or related physical injuries, patrol division, unit
Incident details: incident or other unique identification number for the use of force incident
Type of force details: a description of each type of force used
Body camera or other footage: Inventory of any video record was created of the incident and/or a copy of the captured footage from all present cameras
Disposition of investigation into the incident: The current or final status of each use of force incident, including whether challenges to the use of force were sustained or dismissed or if the incident had no or is currently under investigation
Please provide the information as a csv spreadsheet, if possible, and if not possible, please provide incident reports sufficient to show the requested data.
EQUIPMENT DISCHARGE DATA
For the period from January 1, 2019 through December 31, 2019 and the period from January 1, 2020 through July 31, 2020, data on each discharge of a firearm and other weapons by representatives of this agency, including but not limited to:
Date, time: The date (month, day, year) and time of the incident
Location: Street address, block, and other relevant location information
Incident description and details
Tool or weapon used, including any unique identifier or identification number
Number of discharges
Subject(s) information: race, ethnicity, national origin, age, gender, resultant or related injuries sustained or alleged, weapon type (if applicable) in the possession of each involved individual, arrests or charges associated with the incident
Officer information (for each involved officer): employee number or other unique identifier used for the officer, race, resultant or related physical injuries, patrol division, unit
Type of force details: a description of each type of force used
Disposition or status of any investigation or follow-up review of the incident
Please provide the information as a csv spreadsheet, if possible, and if not possible, please provide incident reports sufficient to show the requested data.
If any portion of materials responsive to this request should be deemed unavailable or non-disclosable, please specifically identify the portions of the records or the specific information that is unavailable and the reason for the unavailability.
If any portion of this request is unclear or if this request could be modified to reduce the burden of producing responsive documents or provide them more efficiently or expeditiously, please reply with a request for clarification or a proposed modification.
This request is being made by a reporter as part of a journalistic investigation. It is being submitted as part of a project to better understand uses of police force nationwide, which has been of public interest for many years and which is of particular interest to large new swaths of the public following the widely-seen death of George Floyd and the First Amendment-protected demonstrations and public discussion that have followed.
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 calendar days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Beryl Lipton
From: Napa County Sheriff
County of Napa
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Hi there
Your first County of Napa record request (request number #20-278) has been submitted.
It is currently unpublished and is not available for the general public to view.
Thank you for contacting the County of Napa, CA. We are in receipt of your Public Records Request. Pursuant to Govt. Code section 6253, we anticipate providing you an initial response to your request within 10 days.
Please note that due to orders of the Governor and the local health officer suspending non-essential operations and ordering workers to remain in their homes, the County has limited staff available to respond to Public Records Act requests. Thus, although the County will make every reasonable effort to respond to Public Records Act requests as soon as possible, the County may require a reasonable amount of additional time to fulfill Public Records Act requests under the current circumstances.
Thank you for your patience and understanding. Should you have any questions, or if you would like to provide further information or clarification regarding your request, please reply to this email.
Thank you.
Request #20-278.
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<em>Questions about your request?</em> Reply to this email or sign in to contact staff at County of Napa.<br></br><em>Technical support:</em> See our <a href='https://www.nextrequest.com/support'>help page</a>
From: Napa County Sheriff
County of Napa
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Hi there
A message was sent to you regarding record request #20-278:
Napa County received your Public Records Act request.
Govt. Code section 6253(c) provides in part as follows: “Each agency, upon a request for a copy of records, shall, within 10 days from receipt of the request, determine whether the request, in whole or in part, seeks copies of disclosable public records in the possession of the agency and shall promptly notify the person making the request of the determination and the reasons therefore. In unusual circumstances, the time limit prescribed in this section may be extended by written notice … to the person making the request, setting forth the reasons for the extension and the date on which a determination is expected to be dispatched. No notice shall specify a date that would result in an extension for more than 14 days.”
This response therefore serves as written notice of the need for an extension of time for your request. The reasons for the extension include
* The need to search for, collect, and appropriately examine a voluminous amount of separate and distinct records that are demanded in a single request. (Govt. Code section 6253(c)(2).
* The need to compile data, to write programming language or a computer program, or to construct a computer report to extract data. (Govt. Code section 6253(c)(4).)
We have initiated the processing of your request to identify records and determine if any records are exempt from disclosure pursuant to Govt. Code section 6254. We aim to have a determination dispatched no later than August 31, 2020, which will inform you of the anticipated date when any disclosable records will be made available to you, the copying charges if physical copies are desired, and the explanation for not disclosing any exempt records.
Should you have any questions, please reply to this email.
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<em>Questions about your request?</em> Reply to this email or sign in to contact staff at County of Napa.<br></br><em>Technical support:</em> See our <a href='https://www.nextrequest.com/support'>help page</a>
From: Napa County Sheriff
County of Napa
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Hi there
A message was sent to you regarding record request #20-278:
Thank you for your patience as we locate and review records responsive to your request. We anticipate that we will be able to provide the records not otherwise exempt from disclosure within approximately two months. We will provide you with disclosable records, or an update on our progress, on or before October 30, 2020.
Some of the records responsive to your request - specifically, Sheriff's Office policies - are available online at https://www.countyofnapa.org/2729/Policy.
If you have any other questions in the meantime, please reply to this email.
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<em>Questions about your request?</em> Reply to this email or sign in to contact staff at County of Napa.<br></br><em>Technical support:</em> See our <a href='https://www.nextrequest.com/support'>help page</a>
From: Napa County Sheriff
County of Napa
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Hi there
A message was sent to you regarding record request #20-278:
Napa County received your Public Records Act request seeking records relating to use of force reporting. On Septermber 1, 2020, the County extended its time to respond to your request until October 30, 2020. This email constitutes the County’s response to your request.
The County is currently locating, gathering, and reviewing records that are responsive to your request and anticipates that such records that are not otherwise exempt from disclosure will be available to you within 45 days. If such records are available at a sooner date, you will be contacted promptly, at which time the County will also inform you of the copying charges due should you wish for copies.
Certain records and/or data that may be responsive to your requests are not subject to disclosure and will hereby be withheld to the extent applicable as follows:
Voluminous information requested
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<em>Questions about your request?</em> Reply to this email or sign in to contact staff at County of Napa.<br></br><em>Technical support:</em> See our <a href='https://www.nextrequest.com/support'>help page</a>
From: Napa County Sheriff
County of Napa
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Hi there
A message was sent to you regarding record request #20-278:
Please note that any of our department policies responsive to your request can be found online on our public Sheriff's Office webpage.
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<em>Questions about your request?</em> Reply to this email or sign in to contact staff at County of Napa.<br></br><em>Technical support:</em> See our <a href='https://www.nextrequest.com/support'>help page</a>
From: Napa County Sheriff
County of Napa
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Hi there
A document has been released to you for record request #20-278:
* Citizen Complaint.doc
Document links are valid for one month.
After November 30, you will need to sign in to view the document(s).
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<em>Questions about your request?</em> Reply to this email or sign in to contact staff at County of Napa.<br></br><em>Technical support:</em> See our <a href='https://www.nextrequest.com/support'>help page</a>
From: Napa County Sheriff
County of Napa
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Hi there
A message was sent to you regarding record request #20-278:
Napa County received your Public Records Act request seeking records relating to Use of Force.. Pursuant to the County’s duty under Govt. Code section 6253.1 to assist you in identifying the records you seek, we are reaching out to you in an effort to obtain clarification regarding your request. Your prompt response will enable the County to provide the records you seek in the most efficient and accurate manner possible.
Please provide us with clarification, regarding your request at your earliest convenience by replying to this email.
Clarification requested: you have requested a broad time frame for records documenting use of force and associated body worn camera footage. In some cases there may be more than one BWC at a n incident. Given the wide range of your request it may take many months to process your requests for BWC footage. Can you please specify a more narrow timeframe or whether the incident reports will be sufficient without BWC footage. Thank you
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<em>Questions about your request?</em> Reply to this email or sign in to contact staff at County of Napa.<br></br><em>Technical support:</em> See our <a href='https://www.nextrequest.com/support'>help page</a>
From: Napa County Sheriff
County of Napa
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Hi there
A document has been released to you for record request #20-278:
* TASER Use Report 2013.doc
Document links are valid for one month.
After November 30, you will need to sign in to view the document(s).
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<em>Questions about your request?</em> Reply to this email or sign in to contact staff at County of Napa.<br></br><em>Technical support:</em> See our <a href='https://www.nextrequest.com/support'>help page</a>
From: Napa County Sheriff
County of Napa
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Hi there
A document has been released to you for record request #20-278:
* Taser Deployments 01-1-2019 to 07-31-2020.xlsx
Document links are valid for one month.
After December 10, you will need to sign in to view the document(s).
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<em>Questions about your request?</em> Reply to this email or sign in to contact staff at County of Napa.<br></br><em>Technical support:</em> See our <a href='https://www.nextrequest.com/support'>help page</a>
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Taser20Deployments2001-1-201920to2007-31-2020.xlsx
From: Napa County Sheriff
County of Napa
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Hi there
A document has been released to you for record request #20-278:
* use of force 2019.pdf
Document links are valid for one month.
After December 10, you will need to sign in to view the document(s).
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<em>Questions about your request?</em> Reply to this email or sign in to contact staff at County of Napa.<br></br><em>Technical support:</em> See our <a href='https://www.nextrequest.com/support'>help page</a>
From: Napa County Sheriff
County of Napa
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Hi there
A document has been released to you for record request #20-278:
* 19000704_Redacted.pdf
Document links are valid for one month.
After December 18, you will need to sign in to view the document(s).
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<em>Questions about your request?</em> Reply to this email or sign in to contact staff at County of Napa.<br></br><em>Technical support:</em> See our <a href='https://www.nextrequest.com/support'>help page</a>
From: Napa County Sheriff
County of Napa
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Hi there
A document has been released to you for record request #20-278:
* C19-055_Redacted.pdf
Document links are valid for one month.
After December 18, you will need to sign in to view the document(s).
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<em>Questions about your request?</em> Reply to this email or sign in to contact staff at County of Napa.<br></br><em>Technical support:</em> See our <a href='https://www.nextrequest.com/support'>help page</a>
From: Napa County Sheriff
County of Napa
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Hi there
A message was sent to you regarding record request #20-278:
Please note our Department policies can be found online on our main Sheriff's Department webpage for viewing. Additionally, we previously released body warn camera footage to the media for included disclosed report NSD19-000704, and can be located online. If you would like a redacted copy of the full BWC footage please contact us, however it may be an extended period of time to process a redacted version of the BWC footage. We previously sent a request for clarification from you regarding which BWC videos you are looking for in your request and have not received a response. The BWC videos are the last responsive item to your request, please advise if you are no longer interested in these items and we will close your request. Your request is paused until we receive a clarifying response from you. Thank you
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<em>Questions about your request?</em> Reply to this email or sign in to contact staff at County of Napa.<br></br><em>Technical support:</em> See our <a href='https://www.nextrequest.com/support'>help page</a>
From: Napa County Sheriff
County of Napa
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Hi there
Record request #20-278 has been closed. The closure reason supplied was:
We have not received a response to our request for clarification. Thus, we have closed your request.
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<em>Questions about your request?</em> Reply to this email or sign in to contact staff at County of Napa.<br></br><em>Technical support:</em> See our <a href='https://www.nextrequest.com/support'>help page</a>
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