Virginia Police Data Collection (Prince William County Police Department)

Tom Nash filed this request on behalf of Samuel Sinyangwe with the Prince William County Police of Prince William County, VA.
Submitted Aug. 17, 2021
Status
Completed

Communications

From: Samuel Sinyangwe

Subject: Virginia Freedom of Information Act Request: Virginia Police Data Collection (Prince William County Police Department)

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To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:

1. the total number of use of force incidents reported by the police department, separated by year and by type of force used from 2013-2020 (for example: 15 taser incidents in 2018, 27 taser incidents in 2019, 3 baton incidents in 2013, 18 baton incidents in 2014, etc.)
2. the total number of civilian complaints alleging any form of law enforcement misconduct that were reported and the total number sustained from 2013-2020, separated by year (for example: 8 complaints in 2016, 2 complaints sustained in 2016, 4 complaints in 2017, 1 complaint sustained in 2017, etc.)
3. the total number of civilian complaints alleging law enforcement use of excessive force that were reported and the total number sustained from 2013-2020, separated by year.
4. the total number of civilian complaints alleging biased policing or racial profiling that were reported and the total number sustained from 2013-2020, separated by year.
5. the total number of civilian complaints alleging criminal conduct that were reported and the total number sustained from 2013-2020, separated by year.
6. a list of all officer involved shootings that were directed at a person from 2013-2020 (excluding shootings of animals and accidental discharges that are not directed at a person).
7. all information reported to the FBI’s National Use-of-Force Data Collection program to date.

If only partial information is available responsive to one or more of these requests, please provide all of the information that is available.

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 5 business days, as the statute requires.

This request is filed by Tom Nash, a citizen of Prince William County, in coordination with Samuel Sinyangwe.

From: Prince William County Police

Subject: Response to the Virginia Freedom of Information Act Request: Virginia Police Data Collection (Prince William County Police Department)

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Mr. Nash,

This response to your Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) request you submitted to the Police Department for information regarding use of force data. Please consider the following to be the Department’s response to your request.

Section § 16.1-301 of the Code of Virginia (1950), as amended, states, in part, records of administrative investigations relating to allegations of wrongdoing by employees of a law-enforcement agency are excluded from mandatory release. Therefore, it’s up to the Department’s discretion to release or withhold the information. Our Department exercised discretion and released the data in our Department’s annual report. The information is published on the Department’s website, www.pwcva.gov/department/police<http://www.pwcva.gov/department/police>.

However, the information released to the public may not encompass all the data you’re seeking. If you would like to discuss the matter further, feel free to reach out to our Chief of Staff, Mr. Bromeland, at (703) 792-8571.

Det. R.L. Hyatt
Office of the Chief / FOIA
Central District Station
5036 Davis Ford Road
703-792-6559

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