Sustained findings since 2017
| Tracking # |
PD-22-1819 |
| Submitted | Nov. 14, 2022 |
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Communications
From: Ananya Tiwari
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the New Jersey Open Public Records Act, I hereby request the following records:
Under the New Jersey Open Public Records Act, N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq., I am requesting copies of records related to cases of sustained findings of police misconduct at the Newark Police Internal Affairs, between 2017 and 2022. This includes, but is not limited to, documents, reports, multimedia, body-worn camera footage, arrest filings, and so on. It also includes all documents, notes, correspondence and memoranda evidencing sustained findings reports and investigations, and all communication and correspondence in whatever tangible medium between the officials, the victims and the overseeing agency.
I am requesting digital copies of all responsive documents.
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.
Here, misconduct includes, but is not limited to:
Excessive (unreasonable) force – beatings, manhandling of people in handcuffs, improper use of Tasers, injuries inflicted by police dogs, improper use of deadly force, and other police brutality or disregard for the safety of suspects. It also includes, but is not limited to: physical and verbal abuse, restraints happening unreasonably, coerced or forced confessions, and sexual abuse and assault.
False arrests – pulling over, detention, questioning and searches conducted without any probable cause whatsoever, including cases of planted evidence, racial profiling and trumped-up charges of resisting arrest.
As of March 2022, public officials must release police disciplinary records in New Jersey when the public’s interest in them outweighs an officer’s confidentiality concerns, the state’s top court ruled.
The law requires that you respond to and fulfill this request "as promptly as possible." If you expect a significant delay in responding to and fulfilling this request, please contact me with information about when I might expect copies or the ability to inspect the requested records.
If you deny any or all of this request, please cite each specific exemption you feel justifies the refusal to release the information and notify me of the appeal procedures available to me under the law.
Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at 415-769-8210 or ananyatiwarijournalism@gmail.com.
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 7 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Ananya Tiwari
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following New Jersey Open Public Records Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on Nov. 14, 2022. 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: Newark Police Department
Good morning,
The OPRA unit wants to inform you that regarding file PD-22-1819, unfortunately we have not received a response from the Police Department.
We have notified the overdue date status of this file to the appropriate agency (ies).
We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused and appreciate your understanding.
Respectfully,
[cid:image003.jpg@01D1A52B.D23FFA40]
Ilsa Cintron, OPRA Unit
Office of the City Clerk
920 Broad St.
City Hall-Room 415 A
Newark NJ 07102
Tel: 973-424-4116
Fax: 973-733-4893
From: Newark Police Department
This office must deny your request as it seeks Internal Affairs records, which are not accessible under OPRA. “The progress of internal affairs investigations and all supporting material are confidential information.” Rivera v. Union Cty. Prosecutor’s Office, 250 N.J. 124, 142 (2022). The only publicly available internal affairs evaluations are records placed into the recently created tables listing officers who have faced Major Discipline. See In Re Att’y General Directive, 246 N.J.462 (2021) (upholding the AG’s creation of a public database in which police list officers who have faced Major Discipline, where Major Discipline is demotion, termination, or suspension of 5 days or more.)
As a courtesy, the publicly available tables listing NPD officers who suffered Major Discipline are accessible through this link: https://npd.newarkpublicsafety.org/statistics/transparency.
From: Ananya Tiwari
Thank you for the response.
I wished to follow up and further request:
- index of cases from 2017-2022 for use of force for: compliance hold, hands/fists, firearm discharge
The law requires that you respond to and fulfill this request "as promptly as possible." If you expect a significant delay in responding to and fulfilling this request, please contact me with information about when I might expect copies or the ability to inspect the requested records.
If you deny any or all of this request, please cite each specific exemption you feel justifies the refusal to release the information and notify me of the appeal procedures available to me under the law.
Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at 415-881-3302 (can leave a voicemail if not available) or ananyatiwarijournalism@gmail.com.
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 7 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Ananya Tiwari
From: Newark Police Department
Good Morning:
Last year, the Office of the Clerk of the City of Newark received the request below:
Under the New Jersey Open Public Records Act, N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq., I am requesting copies of records related to cases of sustained findings of police misconduct at the Newark Police Internal Affairs, between 2017 and 2022. This includes, but is not limited to, documents, reports, multimedia, body-worn camera footage, arrest filings, and so on. It also includes all documents, notes, correspondence and memoranda evidencing sustained findings reports and investigations, and all communication and correspondence in whatever tangible medium between the officials, the victims and the overseeing agency.
I am requesting digital copies of all responsive documents.
In 2021, the New Jersey Supreme Court wrote that complaints against and commendations of police officers are confidential internal affairs records: “the progress of internal affairs investigations and all supporting material are considered confidential information.” Rivera v. Union Cty. Prosecutor’s Office, 250 N.J. 124, 142 (2022). The only publicly available police evaluations are records placed into the recently created tables listing officers who have faced Major Discipline. See In Re Att’y General Directive, 246 N.J.462 (2021) (upholding the AG’s creation of a public database in which police list officers who have faced Major Discipline, where Major Discipline is demotion, termination, or suspension of 5 days or more.) As a courtesy, the publicly available tables listing NPD officers who suffered Major Discipline are accessible through this link: https://npd.newarkpublicsafety.org/statistics/transparency.
From: Newark Police Department
Good Morning:
Request PD-22-1819 was for the following documents:
copies of records related to cases of sustained findings of police misconduct at the Newark Police Internal Affairs, between 2017 and 2022. This includes, but is not limited to, documents, reports, multimedia, body-worn camera footage, arrest filings, and so on. It also includes all documents, notes, correspondence and memoranda evidencing sustained findings reports and investigations, and all communication and correspondence in whatever tangible medium between the officials, the victims and the overseeing agency.
I am requesting digital copies of all responsive documents."
This office denied this request on Dec. 1, 2022, and provided a link to all publicly available information in line with the Attorney General's Directive. Below you will see text of the denial that was sent:
The progress of internal affairs investigations and all supporting material are confidential information.” Rivera v. Union Cty. Prosecutor’s Office, 250 N.J. 124, 142 (2022). The only publicly available internal affairs evaluations are records placed into the recently created tables listing officers who have faced Major Discipline. See In Re Att’y General Directive, 246 N.J.462 (2021) (upholding the AG’s creation of a public database in which police list officers who have faced Major Discipline, where Major Discipline is demotion, termination, or suspension of 5 days or more.)
As a courtesy, the publicly available tables listing NPD officers who suffered Major Discipline are accessible through this link: https://npd.newarkpublicsafety.org/statistics/transparency.
The initial request made no reference to UFRs. If you are seeking the UFRs, I can process that as a new request. Would you like the UFRs for those years.
From: Ananya Tiwari
Thank you.
The files shared list that 6 personnel were terminated to date for use of force. (Page 7: https://npd.newarkpublicsafety.org/assets/docs/transparency/202210.pdf).
Considering that the investigation of their matter is now closed and concluded, and is not ongoing, and thus does is not exempt from public records requests nor is confidential as per Rivera v Union Cty Prosecutor’s Office, 250 N.J. 124, 142 (2022), I am requesting:
- For these 6 cases, all copies of the sustained findings of police misconduct.This includes, but is not limited to, documents, reports, multimedia, body-worn camera footage, arrest filings, and so on. It also includes all documents, notes, correspondence and memoranda evidencing sustained findings reports and investigations, and all communication and correspondence in whatever tangible medium between the officials, the victims and the overseeing agency.
From: Newark Police Department
Good Morning:
This office must deny your request for
" For these 6 cases, all copies of the sustained findings of police misconduct. This includes, but is not limited to, documents, reports, multimedia, body-worn camera footage, arrest filings, and so on. It also includes all documents, notes, correspondence and memoranda evidencing sustained findings reports and investigations, and all communication and correspondence in whatever tangible medium between the officials, the victims and the overseeing agency"
because the documents you requested are not accessible under OPRA.
Your email refers to page 142 of the Rivera case as a justification for the following conclusion: "Considering that the investigation of their matter is now closed and concluded, and is not ongoing, and thus does is not exempt from public records requests nor is confidential as per Rivera v Union Cty Prosecutor’s Office, 250 N.J. 124, 142 (2022)"
However, page 142 of Rivera states that "the progress of internal affairs investigations and all other supporting materials are considered confidential information." The next page of the opinion states "Section 9(b) of OPRA therefore exempts internal affairs records from public disclosure." Id. at 143. The fact that the investigations have concluded does not affect the accessibility of internal affairs documents requested under OPRA.
OPRA does have a separate ongoing investigation exemption, N.J.S.A. 47:1A-3, that, when applicable, applies to all investigations in progress by police agencies, not just those of police misconduct. However, this office did not assert OPRA's ongoing investigation exemption in denying your previous request.
The previously provided tables listing NPD officers who suffered major discipline are the only Internal Affairs records accessible under OPRA regarding the six terminated officers.
AG Guideline 2020-5 states the following:
"On a periodic basis, and at least once a year, every agency shall submit to the County Prosecutor and publish on the agency's public website a brief synopsis of all complaints where a termination, reduction in rank or grade, and/or suspension of more than five days was assessed to an agency member. This synopsis shall include the identity of each officer subject to final discipline, a brief summary of their transgressions, and a statement of the sanction imposed."
The AG Guideline does not state that any other documents are accessible under OPRA. The tables provided list the identity, the summary, and a statement of the sanction imposed. Therefore, you have already received all Internal Affairs documents accessible under OPRA from the 6 officers.