Use of force (response to resistance) guidance, policies, and data (Oakland County Sheriff's Office)

Dear Beryl Lipton:

Thank you for your interest in public records from Oakland County, Michigan. Your request has been received and is being processed in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act, Public Act 422 of 1976, as amended, MCL. 15.231 et. seq. Your request was given the reference number F003426-080120 for tracking purposes.

Records Requested: To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Michigan Freedom of Information Act, 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.

• Instructions for reporting. Any and all instructions and guidance related to the reporting of uses of force by any member or representative of this agency.

• Forms, coding descriptions, 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.

• Discharge Report 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 appropriately assessed in association with this request, 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,

Beryl Lipton

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Your request will be forwarded to the relevant County department(s) to locate the information you seek and to determine the costs, if any, associated with satisfying your request. You will be contacted when we determine if the records you requested are available and if there is a cost for you to obtain the records you requested.

PLEASE NOTE: The Michigan Freedom of Information Act does not require a governmental body to create new information or answer questions.

You can monitor the progress of your request at the link below and you'll receive an email when your request has been completed.

Again, thank you for using the FOIA Records Center.

Oakland County, Michigan

--- Please respond above this line ---
08/07/2020 Beryl Lipton MuckRock News, Highland Ave Somerville, MA 02144 requests@muckrock.com RE: FOIA REQUEST of August 01, 2020, Reference # F003426-080120 Dear Beryl Lipton: This letter is in response to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request referenced above. Your requests for any and all policies guiding appropriate and inappropriate uses of force by any member or representative, reporting instructions for uses of force by any member or representative, forms, coding descriptions and other guidance used in the reporting of uses of force, use of force data from 1/1/2019 – 12/31/2019 and from 1/1/2020 – 7/31/2020, and discharge report data from 1/1/2019 – 12/31/2019 and 1/1/2020 – 7/31/2020 are denied pursuant to MCL 15.243(1)(s)(v) and (vi) (operational instructions and staff manuals) and (1)(s)(ix) (personnel records). YOUR FURTHER LEGAL RIGHTS
To the extent that this response, in your opinion, constitutes a denial of your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) rights, your statutory remedies are as follows: For FOIA denials, you may submit to the head of the public body a written appeal that specifically states the word "appeal" and identifies the reason or reasons for reversal of the denial. Within 10 business days after the head of the public body receives a written appeal he or she will do one of the following:
* Reverse the denial.
* Issue a written notice to you upholding the denial.
* Reverse the denial in part and issue a written notice to you upholding the denial in part. Under unusual circumstances, issue a notice extending for not more than 10 business days the time to respond. You may begin a civil action in circuit court to compel the public body’s disclosure of the public records within 180 days after a public body’s final determination to deny a request. You have the right to receive attorneys' fees and damages as provided in MCL 15.240 if, after judicial review, the court determines that the public body has not complied with MCL 15.235 and orders disclosure of all or a portion of a public record. For fee appeals, if the public body requires a fee that, in your opinion, exceeds the amount permitted under its procedures and guidelines or MCL 15.234, you may submit to the head of the public body a written fee appeal for a fee reduction that specifically states the word "appeal" and identifies how the required fee exceeds the amount permitted. Within 10 business days after the head of the public body receives a written fee appeal, he or she will do one of the following:
* Waive the fee.
* Reduce the fee and issue a written determination to the requesting person indicating the basis for the remaining fee.
* Uphold the fee and issue a written determination to the requesting person indicating the basis for upholding the fee. If necessary, issue a notice extending for not more than 10 business days the time to respond. Within 45 days after the head of the public body issues a written determination on the fee appeal or if the head of the public body failed to respond to the fee appeal, you may begin a civil action in circuit court. Oakland County’s FOIA Procedures and Guidelines, and its Public Summary, can be found at https://www.oakgov.com/FOIA (https://u8387795.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=nZGH0ylxadMp5hTpNkeAFhk2YybulXYVbVsBwB9OkZ-2FyQnejk6hAkjSPdBgDsWyCK8UU_LaazEH5zVvpgGJ-2BgTUGiFWdasHwsK9YfSuBR1ctxgEXw3FmQGIRfkcnFrQ4KowSsd83-2FTUFXHlDffk9oDYlWHabDR58gGIJc-2FThBjqtvaxsFByPaNtb-2FMD0V2YTn9nQbpUUqDlKHX-2F9IWELDw8LjNhYC9KDmBPsuVzyrRkCxfkDpHrZe-2FK5yeGY5V-2Be8Qc0JqFCs9VDQ4j3qaevJMFxUl7fm4RwlQCAiYbGEDks28Rmolu2LA0aSad-2BW0lxanazGE0ThK-2F-2FgzUOR5sQ-2BqdHrlKovMKTLeriibMjJiASECHePvZ9IO7e-2B7yn-2FY0uCYQV5vmLoR4WauAgXjPI8shMpjunQ5JeLY7EhmVyfQSeFZmDsd4TFYT-2FymlavgQNvZOoCH6ZRU6MYQE7iPJTQhjfdFQ-3D-3D) Sincerely, Lydia Cantu Sheriff's Office