Paternson, NJ PD Citizen Complaints
| Tracking # |
OPRA 1232 |
| Submitted | Aug. 14, 2017 |
| Due | Aug. 23, 2017 |
| Est. Completion | None |
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Communications
From: Alexander Cartwright and Jennifer Dirmeyer
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to Open Public Records Act ("OPRA"), I hereby request the following records:
We are Economics Professors in the College of Business at Ferris State University, and are engaged in an empirical research project on police behavior and citizen complaints. This project requires us to request data from your department. If you have questions about this request or suggestions, we would be happy to discuss them with you.
1. What is the total number of citizen complaints (allegations of misconduct) made against your department’s officers annually for the last 10 years? If your department logs complaints in a database, spreadsheet, or other log, a copy of those logs is fine instead.
Please include the type of complaint (i.e., use of force, abuse language, unwarranted search) and the result of complaint (i.e., sustained, exonerated).
2. What is the total number of complaints police officers made against their peer officers in department annually for the last 10 years? If your department logs complaints in a database, spreadsheet, or other log, a copy of those logs is fine instead.
Please include the type of complaint (i.e., use of force, abuse language, unwarranted search) and the result of complaint (i.e., sustained, exonerated).
3. What is the annual number of officers involved in shootings in your department for the past 10 years? Any documentation or reports that detail the annual number of officer-involved shootings in your department for the past 10 years would be sufficient.
Please include documentation regarding how many of these officer-involved shootings involved disciplinary action. (Please list officer firearm discharge directed at a person separately from a shooting involving an animal and separately from accidental firearm discharges).
Please include the number of officer-involved shootings resulting in discipline.
4. Which of the above data are published publicly? Please provide a link to any and all publicly available reports containing the data above.
Collecting this information is very important to our research, so we would like to emphasize, if you have questions about my request or suggestions, we would be happy to discuss them with you.
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,
Alexander Cartwright and Jennifer Dirmeyer
From: MuckRock.com
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Aug. 14, 2017. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: David DArco
To Whom it May Concern,
Please be advised that OPRA requests should be sent to the Custodian of Records, not to members of the PD. However, I forwarded your request to the Clerk's Office and it was assigned OPRA # CA17-1232. If you have any questions on its status, questions should be directed to the Clerk's Office at (973)321-1500.
Respectfully,
Det. David R. D'Arco #4418
Detective David R. D'Arco #4418
Office of the Chief of Police
111 Broadway, Paterson, NJ 07505
Office: (973) 321-1152
Fax: (973) 321-1155
ddarco@patersonpd.com<mailto:ddarco@patersonpd.com>
Confidentiality Notice
The documents accompanying this transmission contains information from the Paterson Police Department which is Confidential in nature. The information is intended solely for the individual, entity or authority to which it is addressed. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution or the taking of an action in reliance on the contents of this transmission's information is strictly prohibited and that the documents should be destroyed or returned to the Paterson Police Department immediately. If you have received this e-mail in error, please notify our department at (973) 321-1150.
From: Twydaisha Hilbert
Good Morning:
The City of Paterson requires an additional seven (7) business days from the date hereof to satisfied the attached OPRA request.
Thank you.
From: Alexander Cartwright and Jennifer Dirmeyer
Hello,
Thank you for the update. I look forward to your response.
Respectfully,
Alex Cartwright
From: Jacqueline Murray
Good Afternoon:
The City of Paterson requires an additional seven (7) business days from the date hereof to satisfy the attached OPRA request.
Thank you.
Jacqueline Murray
Office of the City Clerk
Scan Date: 08.16.2017 10:01:22 (-0400)
Queries to: Clerk_Copier@patersonnj.gov<mailto:Clerk_Copier@patersonnj.gov>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
***NOTICE: The information contained in this transmission may contain privileged and confidential information. It is intended only for the use of the person(s) named above. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any review, dissemination, distribution or duplication of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply email and destroy all copies of the original message. Unauthorized use of this e-mail may constitute a violation of federal and state law. Although the City of Paterson attempts to sweep e-mails and attachments for viruses, it does not guarantee that either are virus free and accepts no liability for any damage sustained as a result of viruses.***
From: Alexander Cartwright and Jennifer Dirmeyer
Hello,
Thank you for the response. I look forward to receiving the data.
Respectfully,
Alex Cartwright
From: Jacqueline Murray
Please see the attached.
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OPRA.RESPONSE.CA17.1232.PART.1
From: Alexander Cartwright and Jennifer Dirmeyer
I am writing to follow up on my original request made on 8/14/17.
Thank you very much for providing the information we requested. I am writing to ask for some clarification regarding the data on officer-involved shootings you provided us with. What constitutes an officer-involved shooting in your department? For example, some departments do not count misses while others count all discharges; some include shots at animals. Other departments include intentional and accidental shootings; others do not. Some include all discharges and some exclude missed shots. Please explain to us how your department classifies the OIS included in the numbers you sent to us.
Very Respectfully, Alex Cartwright
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