Police department misconduct allegations and disciplinary proceedings
It is a clone of this request.
| Submitted | June 18, 2020 |
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Communications
From: Beryl Lipton
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the New York Freedom of Information Law, I hereby request the following records:
All materials and records describing and sufficient to show/disclose all allegations of misconduct made and all disciplinary proceedings taken against any officer, employee, or representative of this policing agency.
As described in the New York Freedom of Information Law, a record is "any information kept, held, filed, produced or reproduced by, with or for an agency or the state legislature, in any physical form whatsoever including, but not limited to, reports, statements, examinations, memoranda, opinions, folders, files, books, manuals, pamphlets, forms, papers, designs, drawings, maps, photos, letters, microfilms, computer tapes or discs, rules, regulations or codes." Records kept in a digital or electronic form are also records, would be responsive to this request, and should be provided.
These records are typically required to be retained under the New York State Records Retention and Disposition Schedule MU-1 (http://www.archives.nysed.gov/records/retention_mu-1), including, but not limited to, item no. 365, which includes: "Investigative records and disciplinary proceedings, including but not limited to statement of charge, transcript of hearing, notice of decision, letter of termination or resignation, letter of reinstatement, record of appeal procedure, and correspondence." While materials under that schedule have a set retention of 3 years after the final decision rendered, this request and materials responsive to it include *all* records held in the possession of any office or individual employed or formerly employed by this policing agency, including those kept off-site, in digital form, and in personnel files.
Please note that any failure to provide all potentially-responsive materials and/or the destruction of materials potentially responsive to this request would be a violation of the spirit of the New York Freedom of Information Law, as well as unlawful under the New York FOIL and the terms of the attached litigation hold notice.
Materials responsive to this request include — but are not limited to — all complaints, reports, records of discipline and penalties, aggregate collections of complaint and disciplinary materials (spreadsheets, databases), investigatory materials, relevant related correspondence, photographs, video, other related evidence, proof of discipline or fulfillment of penalties, and all personnel materials (including those used in promotion, contract, and other employment negotiations and considerations) that reference or utilize misconduct allegations or disciplinary materials of any sort.
Materials responsive to this request include all complaints— internal, external, and civilian — and include records disclosing the names, badge numbers, and personnel identification of each officer involved and/or serving as a witness, as well as all available details of the incident/complaint: date, time, location, nature of the incident, description of the incident, nature of the investigation, investigatory materials, the disposition of the case, and any subsequent materials related to the execution of any resultant discipline. Responsive materials include all complaints and allegations against any officer, employee, or representative of this policing agency, regardless of whether that complaint or allegation resulted in any investigation or disciplinary action.
Responsive materials also include all records of use of force by officers, including records disclosing the names, badge numbers, and personnel identification of each officer involved and/or serving as a witness, as well as all available details of the incident: date, time, location, nature of the incident, description of the incident, nature of the use of force, subsequent investigatory materials related to the use of force, the disposition of any investigation into the incident, and any subsequent materials related to the use of force.
Please provide materials on a rolling basis, beginning with materials created during the following timeframes:
• January 1, 2010 - June 15, 2020
• January 1, 2000 - January 1, 2010
• January 1, 1990 - January 1, 2000
• January 1, 1980 - January 1, 1990
• January 1, 1970 - January 1, 1980
Pursuant to NYCRR Section 1401.5(c)(1), should any of this request be unclear or lack sufficient description for your office, please provide direction that would enable this requester to request records reasonably described. Please also note that the New York FOIL states: "An agency shall not deny a request on the basis that the request is voluminous or that locating or reviewing the requested records or providing the requested copies is burdensome because the agency lacks sufficient staffing or on any other basis if the agency may engage an outside professional service to provide copying, programming or other services required to provide the copy...." Please also see FOIL AO 19671, an Advisory Opinion from the Committee on Open Government [https://docs.dos.ny.gov/coog/ftext/f19671.htm].
If your office has questions about this request or would like to discuss it for any reason, please contact this requester via the contact email address provided and feel free to follow up by phone: 617-299-1832. This request is being submitted to each policing agency in New York as part of a collaborative project led by MuckRock and involving multiple other educational and journalistic partners and participants. For this reason, over the lifetime of this request, your agency may interface with individuals not listed on this initial communication.
This request is being made in the public interest by a news organization as part of non-profit (not commercial) journalistic work and research on behalf of the public. 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 and as part of the necessary negotiations for successful processing. As far as it is possible, please fulfill elements of this request 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
From: Ogden Town Police Department
Good Afternoon,
This letter is in response to your freedom of information request, which was received by this office on June 18, 2020.
This office is compiling the records you requested. When and if they are available for your review and/or copying, we will contact you.
I anticipate that the requested documents will not be available within twenty days of the date of this letter due to the review necessary, and the manner in which they were stored. I anticipate that the records will be available for your review on or about July 17, 2020. I will promptly inform you when they are available and of the statutory cost associated with their production.
Thanks,
Noelle M. Burley
Town Clerk/Tax Receiver
Town Of Ogden
269 Ogden Center Road
Spencerport, NY 14559
585-617-6114
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following New York Freedom of Information Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 18, 2020. 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: Ogden Town Police Department
An interim response, stating the request is being processed.
From: Ogden Town Police Department
An interim response, stating the request is being processed.
From: Ogden Town Police Department
TO: requests@muckrock.com<mailto:requests@muckrock.com>
Beryl Lipton
MuckRock News
DEPT MR 96222
411A Highland Ave
Somerville, MA 02144-2516
FROM: Noelle Burley, Records Management Officer, Town of Ogden, N.Y.
FOIL Request Dated June 18, 2020
I am corresponding with you further in response to your FOIL request, above noted, and in furtherance of my initial response to you dated June 24, 2020.
Please be advised that, in accordance with the provisions of §87 of the Public Officers Law the Town of Ogden has established the following rules and regulations pertaining to the availability of record and the procedures to be followed:
1. The time and place that all requested records will be available shall be determined by the Records Management Officer based upon a review of the nature and extent of the request, including but not limited to the (i) length of time the requested records cover (i.e. days, months, years); (ii) the breadth of nature of the request and the estimated time needed to assess the time required to identify and categorize the breadth of the request; (iii) the time necessary to identify if the requested records can be processed by a municipal employee or if an outside professional service is necessary; and
1. The Records Management Officer from whom all records may be obtained is Noelle Burley, Town Clerk, Town of Ogden; and
1. The fees for copies of records will be determined in accordance with the provisions of both §87(b) and (c) of the Public Officers Law.
Based on the foregoing, I have determined that the records which you have requested will, in all likelihood, be available to you not later than December 31, 2020. Further, as soon as I am able to more accurately determine the fees that are required to be paid by you for such requested records, I will so advise you at that time. All records to be furnished will be subject to those exceptions and redactions as provided for pursuant to §87 and 89 of the Public Officers Law.
Very truly yours,
Noelle M. Burley
Noelle Burley
Town Clerk, Town of Ogden
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I'm following up on the following New York Freedom of Information Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 18, 2020. You previously indicated that it would be completed on Dec. 31, 2020. 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: Ogden Town Police Department
Good Morning,
The Town of Ogden has gone through all of the police records from today through 2000, and there are not any discipline records to disclose. We are going to need an additional 3 months to continue going through the files. As soon as this has been completed we will provide you with our findings.
If you could acknowledge receipt of this email it would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Noelle M. Burley
Town Clerk/Tax Receiver
Town Of Ogden
269 Ogden Center Road
Spencerport, NY 14559
585-617-6114
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I'm following up on the following New York Freedom of Information Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 18, 2020. You had previously indicated that it would be completed on Dec. 31, 2020. 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: Ogden Town Police Department
I emailed a response yesterday as a matter of fact – I will resend the email again. Please let me know if you do not receive the response in the next 5 minutes.
Noelle M. Burley
Town Clerk/Tax Receiver
Town Of Ogden
269 Ogden Center Road
Spencerport, NY 14559
585-617-6114
From: Ogden Town Police Department
From: Noelle Burley
Sent: Wednesday, December 30, 2020 11:02 AM
To: requests@muckrock.com
Cc: Chris Mears <CMears@ogdenny.com>; Daniel G. Schum, Esq <DGSchum@schumwerner.com>; Gay Lenhard <supervisor@ogdenny.com>; Nicole Dobson <NDobson@ogdenny.com>
Subject: RE: New York Freedom of Information Law Request: Police department misconduct allegations and disciplinary proceedings
Good Morning,
The Town of Ogden has gone through all of the police records from today through 2000, and there are not any discipline records to disclose. We are going to need an additional 3 months to continue going through the files. As soon as this has been completed we will provide you with our findings.
If you could acknowledge receipt of this email it would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Noelle M. Burley
Town Clerk/Tax Receiver
Town Of Ogden
269 Ogden Center Road
Spencerport, NY 14559
585-617-6114
From: requests@muckrock.com<mailto:requests@muckrock.com> <requests@muckrock.com<mailto:requests@muckrock.com>>
Sent: Thursday, July 9, 2020 5:03 AM
To: Noelle Burley <TownClerk@ogdenny.com<mailto:TownClerk@ogdenny.com>>
Cc: Chris Mears <cmears@ogdenny.com<mailto:cmears@ogdenny.com>>; Daniel G. Schum, Esq <DGSchum@schumwerner.com<mailto:DGSchum@schumwerner.com>>; Gay Lenhard <supervisor@ogdenny.com<mailto:supervisor@ogdenny.com>>; Nicole Dobson <NDobson@ogdenny.com<mailto:NDobson@ogdenny.com>>
Subject: RE: New York Freedom of Information Law Request: Police department misconduct allegations and disciplinary proceedings
ATTENTION: This email came from an external source.
Do not open attachments or click on links from unknown senders or unexpected emails.
Ogden Town Police Department
FOIL Office
269 Ogden Center Road
Spencerport, NY 14559
July 9, 2020
This is a follow up to a previous request:
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following New York Freedom of Information Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 18, 2020. 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.
Filed via MuckRock.com
E-mail (Preferred): requests@muckrock.com<mailto:requests@muckrock.com>
Upload documents directly: https://www.muckrock.com/
Is this email coming to the wrong contact? Something else wrong? Use the above link to let us know.
For mailed responses, please address (see note):
MuckRock News
DEPT MR 96222
411A Highland Ave
Somerville, MA 02144-2516
PLEASE NOTE: This request is not filed by a MuckRock staff member, but is being sent through MuckRock by the above in order to better track, share, and manage public records requests. Also note that improperly addressed (i.e., with the requester's name rather than "MuckRock News" and the department number) requests might be returned as undeliverable.
---
On June 24, 2020:
Subject: RE: New York Freedom of Information Law Request: Police department misconduct allegations and disciplinary proceedings
Good Afternoon,
This letter is in response to your freedom of information request, which was received by this office on June 18, 2020.
This office is compiling the records you requested. When and if they are available for your review and/or copying, we will contact you.
I anticipate that the requested documents will not be available within twenty days of the date of this letter due to the review necessary, and the manner in which they were stored. I anticipate that the records will be available for your review on or about July 17, 2020. I will promptly inform you when they are available and of the statutory cost associated with their production.
Thanks,
Noelle M. Burley
Town Clerk/Tax Receiver
Town Of Ogden
269 Ogden Center Road
Spencerport, NY 14559
585-617-6114
---
On June 18, 2020:
Subject: New York Freedom of Information Law Request: Police department misconduct allegations and disciplinary proceedings
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the New York Freedom of Information Law, I hereby request the following records:
All materials and records describing and sufficient to show/disclose all allegations of misconduct made and all disciplinary proceedings taken against any officer, employee, or representative of this policing agency.
As described in the New York Freedom of Information Law, a record is "any information kept, held, filed, produced or reproduced by, with or for an agency or the state legislature, in any physical form whatsoever including, but not limited to, reports, statements, examinations, memoranda, opinions, folders, files, books, manuals, pamphlets, forms, papers, designs, drawings, maps, photos, letters, microfilms, computer tapes or discs, rules, regulations or codes." Records kept in a digital or electronic form are also records, would be responsive to this request, and should be provided.
These records are typically required to be retained under the New York State Records Retention and Disposition Schedule MU-1 (http://www.archives.nysed.gov/records/retention_mu-1), including, but not limited to, item no. 365, which includes: "Investigative records and disciplinary proceedings, including but not limited to statement of charge, transcript of hearing, notice of decision, letter of termination or resignation, letter of reinstatement, record of appeal procedure, and correspondence." While materials under that schedule have a set retention of 3 years after the final decision rendered, this request and materials responsive to it include *all* records held in the possession of any office or individual employed or formerly employed by this policing agency, including those kept off-site, in digital form, and in personnel files.
Please note that any failure to provide all potentially-responsive materials and/or the destruction of materials potentially responsive to this request would be a violation of the spirit of the New York Freedom of Information Law, as well as unlawful under the New York FOIL and the terms of the attached litigation hold notice.
Materials responsive to this request include — but are not limited to — all complaints, reports, records of discipline and penalties, aggregate collections of complaint and disciplinary materials (spreadsheets, databases), investigatory materials, relevant related correspondence, photographs, video, other related evidence, proof of discipline or fulfillment of penalties, and all personnel materials (including those used in promotion, contract, and other employment negotiations and considerations) that reference or utilize misconduct allegations or disciplinary materials of any sort.
Materials responsive to this request include all complaints— internal, external, and civilian — and include records disclosing the names, badge numbers, and personnel identification of each officer involved and/or serving as a witness, as well as all available details of the incident/complaint: date, time, location, nature of the incident, description of the incident, nature of the investigation, investigatory materials, the disposition of the case, and any subsequent materials related to the execution of any resultant discipline. Responsive materials include all complaints and allegations against any officer, employee, or representative of this policing agency, regardless of whether that complaint or allegation resulted in any investigation or disciplinary action.
Responsive materials also include all records of use of force by officers, including records disclosing the names, badge numbers, and personnel identification of each officer involved and/or serving as a witness, as well as all available details of the incident: date, time, location, nature of the incident, description of the incident, nature of the use of force, subsequent investigatory materials related to the use of force, the disposition of any investigation into the incident, and any subsequent materials related to the use of force.
Please provide materials on a rolling basis, beginning with materials created during the following timeframes:
• January 1, 2010 - June 15, 2020
• January 1, 2000 - January 1, 2010
• January 1, 1990 - January 1, 2000
• January 1, 1980 - January 1, 1990
• January 1, 1970 - January 1, 1980
Pursuant to NYCRR Section 1401.5(c)(1), should any of this request be unclear or lack sufficient description for your office, please provide direction that would enable this requester to request records reasonably described. Please also note that the New York FOIL states: "An agency shall not deny a request on the basis that the request is voluminous or that locating or reviewing the requested records or providing the requested copies is burdensome because the agency lacks sufficient staffing or on any other basis if the agency may engage an outside professional service to provide copying, programming or other services required to provide the copy...." Please also see FOIL AO 19671, an Advisory Opinion from the Committee on Open Government [https://docs.dos.ny.gov/coog/ftext/f19671.htm].
If your office has questions about this request or would like to discuss it for any reason, please contact this requester via the contact email address provided and feel free to follow up by phone: 617-299-1832. This request is being submitted to each policing agency in New York as part of a collaborative project led by MuckRock and involving multiple other educational and journalistic partners and participants. For this reason, over the lifetime of this request, your agency may interface with individuals not listed on this initial communication.
This request is being made in the public interest by a news organization as part of non-profit (not commercial) journalistic work and research on behalf of the public. 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 and as part of the necessary negotiations for successful processing. As far as it is possible, please fulfill elements of this request 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
Filed via MuckRock.com
E-mail (Preferred): requests@muckrock.com<mailto:requests@muckrock.com>
Upload documents directly: https://www.muckrock.com/
Is this email coming to the wrong contact? Something else wrong? Use the above link to let us know.
For mailed responses, please address (see note):
MuckRock News
DEPT MR 96222
411A Highland Ave
Somerville, MA 02144-2516
PLEASE NOTE: This request is not filed by a MuckRock staff member, but is being sent through MuckRock by the above in order to better track, share, and manage public records requests. Also note that improperly addressed (i.e., with the requester's name rather than "MuckRock News" and the department number) requests might be returned as undeliverable.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I'm following up on the following New York Freedom of Information Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 18, 2020. You had previously indicated that it would be completed on Dec. 31, 2020. 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: Ogden Town Police Department
Good Morning,
The Town of Ogden has gone through all of the police records from today through 2000, and there are not any discipline records to disclose. We are going to need an additional 3 months to continue going through the files. As soon as this has been completed we will provide you with our findings.
If you could acknowledge receipt of this email it would be greatly appreciated.
Noelle M. Burley
Town Clerk/Tax Receiver
Town Of Ogden
269 Ogden Center Road
Spencerport, NY 14559
585-617-6114
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I'm following up on the following New York Freedom of Information Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 18, 2020. You had previously indicated that it would be completed on Dec. 31, 2020. 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: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I'm following up on the following New York Freedom of Information Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 18, 2020. You had previously indicated that it would be completed on Dec. 31, 2020. 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: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I'm following up on the following New York Freedom of Information Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 18, 2020. You had previously indicated that it would be completed on Dec. 31, 2020. 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: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I'm following up on the following New York Freedom of Information Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 18, 2020. You had previously indicated that it would be completed on Dec. 31, 2020. 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: Beryl Lipton
Hello Ms. Burley,
Thank you so much for your most recent update on this request. I look forward to hearing from your office next month.
Best wishes,
Beryl
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I'm following up on the following New York Freedom of Information Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 18, 2020. You previously indicated that it would be completed on April 16, 2021. 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 Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I'm following up on the following New York Freedom of Information Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 18, 2020. You had previously indicated that it would be completed on April 16, 2021. 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: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I'm following up on the following New York Freedom of Information Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 18, 2020. You had previously indicated that it would be completed on April 16, 2021. 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: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I'm following up on the following New York Freedom of Information Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 18, 2020. You had previously indicated that it would be completed on April 16, 2021. 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: Ogden Town Police Department
Good Afternoon,
As stated previously, the Town of Ogden does not have any records to release for officers who are currently in service, or that have left service in the last 15 years. In addition, the town will follow the precedent set by Justice Ann Marie Taddeo ruling that the state’s repeal of Section 50-a of the New York Civil Rights Law was not retroactive.
Thank you,
Noelle M. Burley, RMC
Town Clerk/Tax Receiver
Town Of Ogden
269 Ogden Center Road
Spencerport, NY 14559
585-617-6114
Ogden Town Police Department
FOIL Office
269 Ogden Center Road
Spencerport, NY 14559
May 3, 2021
This is a follow up to a previous request:
To Whom It May Concern:
I'm following up on the following New York Freedom of Information Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 18, 2020. You had previously indicated that it would be completed on April 16, 2021. 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.
View request history, upload responsive documents, and report problems here:
https://www.muckrock.com/
Filed via MuckRock.com
E-mail (Preferred): requests@muckrock.com<mailto:requests@muckrock.com>
For mailed responses, please address (see note):
MuckRock News
DEPT MR 96222
411A Highland Ave
Somerville, MA 02144-2516
PLEASE NOTE: This request was filed by a MuckRock staff reporter. Also note that improperly addressed (i.e., with the requester's name rather than "MuckRock News" and the department number) requests might be returned as undeliverable.
---
On March 29, 2021:
Subject: RE: New York Freedom of Information Law Request: Police department misconduct allegations and disciplinary proceedings
Hello Ms. Burley,
Thank you so much for your most recent update on this request. I look forward to hearing from your office next month.
Best wishes,
Beryl
---
On Jan. 15, 2021:
Subject: RE: New York Freedom of Information Law Request: Police department misconduct allegations and disciplinary proceedings
Good Morning,
The Town of Ogden has gone through all of the police records from today through 2000, and there are not any discipline records to disclose. We are going to need an additional 3 months to continue going through the files. As soon as this has been completed we will provide you with our findings.
If you could acknowledge receipt of this email it would be greatly appreciated.
Noelle M. Burley
Town Clerk/Tax Receiver
Town Of Ogden
269 Ogden Center Road
Spencerport, NY 14559
585-617-6114
---
On Dec. 31, 2020:
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26695C9CF8914BC5950415C0E5A15194
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