Police Settlements Info (Office Of The City Clerk - Santa Ana)

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the California Public Records Act, I hereby request the following records:

Copies of all reports, lists, databases, or individual documents created since Jan. 1, 2016 that detail lawsuits brought against the city's police department and the outcome of lawsuits brought against the city's police department which includes the financial settlement. This should include any documentation mechanism your department uses to track lawsuits. It should also include any documents that your department submits to local, state, or federal agencies listing the number and/or status of lawsuits brought against the police department.

This request should be construed to include documents compiled quarterly, annually, or in other increments as well as documents or databases that contain responsive information over a longer time span.

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 10 calendar days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Samuel Sinyangwe

Dear Ms. Barrantes:

Thank you for your response. Is it possible to obtain the following alongside the cases and settlements:

1. Date
2. Race of Complainant (if available)
3. Nature of Lawsuit (excessive, force, etc)
4. Other costs

Thank you for all you hard work.

Sincerely,
Samuel Sinyangwe

Dear Ms. Schwarzmann,

In response to your December 5, 2018 letter, please see below:

1. The "date" requested represents the initial filing of the civil lawsuit against Santa Ana Police Department (or its members). Other dates including the date of the outcome (Settlement or other outcome) during the period in question (2016-Present) would also be helpful.
2. The "other costs" refers to the legal costs sustained by the city for litigating or other costs relating to fighting the civil lawsuit.

I hope the above the responses are clear. We do not have a list of the civil lawsuits against the police department so we cannot provide "identifying information" or "specific cases". In sum, we hope to obtain a list of lawsuits filed against the Santa Ana Police Department and settled between 2016-2018 which includes basic details such as the date file, complainant, caption of case, outcome, settlement amount, and other legal costs.

Please do not hesitate to call or e-mail should you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Sam Sinyangwe