NYPD Firearms Discharges Investigation Manual

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the New York State Freedom of Information Law (1977 N.Y. Laws ch. 933), I hereby request the following records:

Copy of “The Firearms Discharges Investigation Manual; The
NYPD Guide to the Preparation of a Shooting Incident Report"

This guide is cited in NYPD's annual discharge report from 2011 (p. 29): http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/downloads/pdf/analysis_and_planning/nypd_annual_firearms_discharge_report_2011.pdf

I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as I believe this request is in the public interest. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.

In the event that fees cannot be waived, 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,

Shawn Musgrave

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Nov. 4, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #2013-PL-8186.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Nov. 4, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #2013-PL-8186.

Thank you for your help.

Jonathan David
Records Access Appeals Officer
New York City Police Department
One Police Plaza - Room 1406
New York, NY 10038-1497

January 2, 2014

Mr. David:

I am writing to appeal denial of request 2013-PL-8186.

In the attached rejection letter, Lieutenant Mantellino relies on a disturbingly broad interpretation of two exemptions. First is his invocation of the criminal investigative techniques exemption. To his credit, Mr. Mantellino provides the caveat to the exemption, even if he does not apply it: "EXCEPT routine techniques and procedures." This request is for materials that guide NYPD officers through the process of preparing a shooting incident report. There are few processes more routine than compiling a report. This exemption does not apply.

And again I find myself appealing Mr. Mantellino's invocation of the inter-agency or intra-agency materials exemption. He quotes the statute only partially, in this case, in order to represent the most unacceptably broad application of the exemption imaginable. Public Officers Law 87(2)(g) says a denial is in order if requested records “are inter-agency or intra-agency materials which are not: [...]
ii. instructions to staff that affect the public." The requested manual is clearly an instruction to staff that affects the public, to the extent that the public has a right to thorough firearms discharge reports from its police officers.

The Committee on Open Government has further defined inter-agency and intra-agency materials (http://docs.dos.ny.gov/coog/ftext/f8552.htm): “‘inter-agency materials’ would involve written communications between or among officials of two or more agencies; ‘intra-agency materials’ would consist of communications between or among officials within an agency.” The requested manual is not a communication, but a manual compiled for NYPD officers.

The rejection of this FOIL request has no merit whatsoever. Under your obligations to New York's public records disclosure statutes, I respectfully request that you release the requested records immediately.

Regards,

Shawn Musgrave

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Nov. 4, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #13PL108186.

Thank you for your help.