SPD Records Request
Submitted | March 14, 2020 |
Est. Completion | None |
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Communications
From: Good Citizen
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Florida Sunshine Law, I hereby request the following records:
A) All personnel records for the following two employees acting as law enforcement officers:
1) "K. Cavallero"
2) "Captain Konstantopoulos"
3) "Officer Jonathon Decker"
Include promotion, demotion, and commendation/disciplinary records for both officers. Include salaries for the two officers for fiscal years 2018, 2019, and 2020.
B) All documents relating to an incident referenced in the below video where officer Cavallero allegedly attempts to blind a citizen attempting to exercise his first amendment right.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQVMhpDAsQw
C) All documents relating to an assault on a citizen exercising their first amendment rights in downtown Sarasota and the subsequent alleged attempted blinding of this individual by Jonathon Decker. Include text messages, photographs, videos, and phone calls sent by or received by Decker on his personal or private phone, laptop, or other device from the night of the incident.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvqLIVvT9K4 (Around 2:05 in the video onwards).
D) All documents outlining standard operating procedures regarding interactions with the public when exercising their first amendment right. This may include but not be limited to: SOP's, guidance from the Chief/Sheriff, memo's, internal emails (from the last five years), and disciplinary records relating to violations of protocol.
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 business days.
Sincerely,
Good Citizen
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Florida Sunshine Law, I hereby request the following records:
A) All personnel records for the following two employees acting as law enforcement officers:
1) "K. Cavallero"
2) "Captain Konstantopoulos"
3) "Officer Jonathon Decker"
Include promotion, demotion, and commendation/disciplinary records for both officers. Include salaries for the two officers for fiscal years 2018, 2019, and 2020.
B) All documents relating to an incident referenced in the below video where officer Cavallero allegedly attempts to blind a citizen attempting to exercise his first amendment right.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQVMhpDAsQw
C) All documents relating to an assault on a citizen exercising their first amendment rights in downtown Sarasota and the subsequent alleged attempted blinding of this individual by Jonathon Decker. Include text messages, photographs, videos, and phone calls sent by or received by Decker on his personal or private phone, laptop, or other device from the night of the incident.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvqLIVvT9K4 (Around 2:05 in the video onwards).
D) All documents outlining standard operating procedures regarding interactions with the public when exercising their first amendment right. This may include but not be limited to: SOP's, guidance from the Chief/Sheriff, memo's, internal emails (from the last five years), and disciplinary records relating to violations of protocol.
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 business days.
Sincerely,
Good Citizen
From: Sarasota Police Department
This will acknowledge receipt of your public records request. My office will notify you when the search for responsive records has been completed. In the meantime, please note that we may contact you if we need clarification regarding your request. We will further advise you if there are any charges associated with the retrieval of the records responsive to your request.
[SPDEmail]
Harley Bishop
Public Records Coordinator
Records Specialist II
Ph: 941-263-6818
Harley.Bishop@SarasotaFL.gov<mailto:Harley.Bishop@SarasotaFL.gov>
www.sarasotapd.org<http://www.sarasotapd.org/>
***NOTE: Please be advised that at this time I am working remotely and unable to answer any calls at my direct line. If you are in need of speaking to an individual, please call our records department at 941-263-6045, otherwise I will communicate via e-mail. Thanks!***
________________________________
Under Florida law, e-mail addresses are public records. If you do not want your e-mail address released in response to a public-records request, do not send electronic mail to this entity. Instead, contact this office by phone or in writing. E-mail messages sent or received by City of Sarasota officials and employees in connection with official City business are public records subject to disclosure under the Florida Public Records Act.
From: Sarasota Police Department
Please be advised I have attached the cost sheet associated with your request in order to obtain a copy of the 3 personnel files requested, Cavallaro, Konstantopoulos, and Decker.
Also, pertaining to the following on your original request, we have no responsive records pertaining to B, C, and D. You will need to provide case numbers associated to the videos that where provided. We are unable to locate any such incident without proper information being provided. i.e., case numbers, date and time of interaction, names involved, etc..
Please be advised that per F.S.S. 119.07(4)(d), fees regarding staff time shall be assessed for extensive requests that require preparation time in excess of thirty minutes. After the initial thirty minutes, staff charges will be assessed in thirty minutes increments based on the researching employee's hourly wage up to a maximum of $35/hr. and will require a 50% deposit before record processing will being. You will be notified of the amount due upon pick up of the records.
Payments can be made over the phone with a credit card for faster processing. If you wish to do this, please advise me so I can provide to you the correct number to call & what information you will need to provide. You may also make payment in person at our records department window Monday - Friday, 7:30AM - 5PM. We accept cash, check or card. Lastly, a check can also be mailed to us. Please make all checks payable to: Sarasota Police Department. Please mail any checks to the following address with the ATTN: like shown below;
Sarasota Police Department
ATTN: Harley Bishop, PRR # 1856
2099 Adams Lane
Sarasota, FL 34237
Should you have any further questions, please feel free to let us know. Also, if we do not hear any communication regarding this request within 30 days, we will assume you no longer need/want the records and will close out the request and a new request will then need to be submitted.
Thanks,
[SPDEmail]
Harley Bishop
Public Records Coordinator
Records Specialist II
Ph: 941-263-6818
Harley.Bishop@SarasotaFL.gov<mailto:Harley.Bishop@SarasotaFL.gov>
www.sarasotapd.org<http://www.sarasotapd.org/>
***NOTE: Please be advised that at this time I am working remotely and unable to answer any calls at my direct line. If you are in need of speaking to an individual, please call our records department at 941-263-6045, otherwise I will communicate via e-mail. Thanks!***
________________________________
Under Florida law, e-mail addresses are public records. If you do not want your e-mail address released in response to a public-records request, do not send electronic mail to this entity. Instead, contact this office by phone or in writing. E-mail messages sent or received by City of Sarasota officials and employees in connection with official City business are public records subject to disclosure under the Florida Public Records Act.
From: Good Citizen
Please verify you've submitted a proper cost sheet with detailed information to substantiate the cost for records that are of interest to the public. The cost sheet you have attached appears blank.
From: Sarasota Police Department
Please see the attached cost sheet.
Thanks,
[SPDEmail]
Harley Bishop
Public Records Coordinator
Records Specialist II
Ph: 941-263-6818
Harley.Bishop@SarasotaFL.gov<mailto:Harley.Bishop@SarasotaFL.gov>
www.sarasotapd.org<http://www.sarasotapd.org/>
***NOTE: Please be advised that at this time I am working remotely and unable to answer any calls at my direct line. If you are in need of speaking to an individual, please call our records department at 941-263-6045, otherwise I will communicate via e-mail. Thanks!***
________________________________
Under Florida law, e-mail addresses are public records. If you do not want your e-mail address released in response to a public-records request, do not send electronic mail to this entity. Instead, contact this office by phone or in writing. E-mail messages sent or received by City of Sarasota officials and employees in connection with official City business are public records subject to disclosure under the Florida Public Records Act.
From: Good Citizen
For the time being, I'm going to speak to the three personnel files. The rest of the request will be addressed in due time.
1) Why am I being charged for copies of personnel records and salary information? This is well documented per your SOP and easily accessible. I requested electronic information, and I requested readily available information.
2) $30+/hr is well above the rate used in the past for extensive request charges. This information should require no extensive work considering it's already organized and well documented, but the rate you're referencing well exceeds the definition of reasonable.
I respectfully request you reconsider your demand for payment to release the records and reevaluate it based on FL FOIA laws and guidance. Ref. Title X, Chapter 119.
From: Sarasota Police Department
To whom it may concern,
Please be advised that all personnel files are extensive and must be reviewed prior to being released for exempt and confidential information per F.S.S.. This process takes time. If you do not want the entire personnel file to help alleviate some of the cost, please clarify. We can certainly provide JUST salary information at no charge since that can be done under 30 minutes.
Also, please be advised that per F.S.S. 119.07(4)(d), fees regarding staff time shall be assessed for extensive requests that require preparation time in excess of thirty minutes. After the initial thirty minutes, staff charges will be assessed in thirty minutes increments based on the researching employee's hourly wage up to a maximum of $35/hr. and will require a 50% deposit before record processing will being. You will be notified of the amount due upon pick up of the records.
The hourly rate will very from request to request due to the researching employee's hourly wage. It's whom ever is completing the request. Please see the revised cost estimate to exclude copy charges since those can be provided electronically.
Should you have any further questions, please feel free to let us know. Also, if we do not hear any communication regarding this request within 30 days, we will assume you no longer need/want the records and will close out the request and a new request will then need to be submitted.
Thanks,
[SPDEmail]
Harley Bishop
Public Records Coordinator
Records Specialist II
Ph: 941-263-6818
Harley.Bishop@SarasotaFL.gov<mailto:Harley.Bishop@SarasotaFL.gov>
www.sarasotapd.org<http://www.sarasotapd.org/>
***NOTE: Please be advised that at this time I am working remotely and unable to answer any calls at my direct line. If you are in need of speaking to an individual, please call our records department at 941-263-6045, otherwise I will communicate via e-mail. Thanks!***
________________________________
Under Florida law, e-mail addresses are public records. If you do not want your e-mail address released in response to a public-records request, do not send electronic mail to this entity. Instead, contact this office by phone or in writing. E-mail messages sent or received by City of Sarasota officials and employees in connection with official City business are public records subject to disclosure under the Florida Public Records Act.
From: Good Citizen
Please release all records that do not require redaction.
For the remaining records that appear to require redaction, list each document and the amount of time it will require to redact each record.
I'd also like a tally for the total number of responsive records when it comes to personnel records (exclude salary information as that is public). Page counts are fine.
From: Sarasota Police Department
Please be advised that in order to complete what you are seeking, that will take ADDITIONAL time to now separate every document whether it needs redactions or not. A new cost estimate will then need to be provided in order to complete this task that was NOT originally included in the original request. Please advise if you would like to go forward with that portion.
Also, on the original request/cost estimate, the page count was included, 750 and this is a ESTIMATE. We will not know the exact amount until a deposit is made and we actually pull all requested documents.
Also, please be advised that per F.S.S. 119.07(4)(d), fees regarding staff time shall be assessed for extensive requests that require preparation time in excess of thirty minutes. After the initial thirty minutes, staff charges will be assessed in thirty minutes increments based on the researching employee's hourly wage up to a maximum of $35/hr. and will require a 50% deposit before record processing will being. You will be notified of the amount due upon pick up of the records.
Thanks,
[SPDEmail]
Harley Bishop
Public Records Coordinator
Records Specialist II
Ph: 941-263-6818
Harley.Bishop@SarasotaFL.gov<mailto:Harley.Bishop@SarasotaFL.gov>
www.sarasotapd.org<http://www.sarasotapd.org/>
***NOTE: Please be advised that at this time I am working remotely and unable to answer any calls at my direct line. If you are in need of speaking to an individual, please call our records department at 941-263-6045, otherwise I will communicate via e-mail. Thanks!***
________________________________
Under Florida law, e-mail addresses are public records. If you do not want your e-mail address released in response to a public-records request, do not send electronic mail to this entity. Instead, contact this office by phone or in writing. E-mail messages sent or received by City of Sarasota officials and employees in connection with official City business are public records subject to disclosure under the Florida Public Records Act.
From: Good Citizen
Your second cost estimate did not include the page count.
If you're not willing to give me an actual number of how many pages need to be redacted and how many do not, so that I'm not grossly overcharged, at least give me page counts broken down for each employee's personnel file and page counts for financials.
In the mean time, please release all records that do not require redaction.
Thanks.
From: Sarasota Police Department
Attached is the Public Records Cost Sheet for Request #1856. This is not an estimate this is the count.
Every page needs to be read and what needs to be redacted, i.e. social security numbers, addresses, phone numbers, photo's, criminal histories, fingerprints, financial information. There are some sections that do not need to be redacted and copying them would be less than 30 minutes. Those sections would be the evaluations, the certificates, and the commendations. The application and background sections need extensive redaction time. Just counting, the pages and giving a breakdown took approximately 2 hours.
Our Personnel Jackets are not electronic so they have to be redacted and copied.
Below is the requested Breakdown based on the personnel jacket sections.
Capt. Konstantopoulos - 723 one sided copies
75 - Application and Background
141 - Certificates
146 - Commendations
94 - Miscellaneous
111 - Personnel Action Papers
156 - Evaluations
Officer Cavallaro - 292 one sided copies
61 - Application
70 - Background
68 - Certificates
12 - Commendations
12 - Miscellaneous
40 - Personnel Action Papers
29 - Evaluations
Officer Decker - 190 one sided copies
43 - Application
91 - Background
17 - Certificates
2 - Commendation
13 - Miscellaneous
13 - Personnel Action Papers
11 - Evaluations
Please be advised that per F.S.S. 119.07(4)(d), fees regarding staff time shall be assessed for extensive requests that require preparation time in excess of thirty minutes. After the initial thirty minutes, staff charges will be assessed in thirty minutes increments based on the researching employee's hourly wage up to a maximum of $35/hr. and will require a 50% deposit before record processing will being. You will be notified of the amount due upon pick up of the records.
Please note in order to continue with your request, we will need for a deposit to be made. We have already spent over the first 30 minutes which is free. Just to complete the task above, took approximately 2 hours. Should you have any further questions, please advise.
Thanks,
[SPDEmail]
Harley Bishop
Public Records Coordinator
Records Specialist II
Ph: 941-263-6818
Harley.Bishop@SarasotaFL.gov<mailto:Harley.Bishop@SarasotaFL.gov>
www.sarasotapd.org<http://www.sarasotapd.org/>
***NOTE: Please be advised that at this time I am working remotely and unable to answer any calls at my direct line. If you are in need of speaking to an individual, please call our records department at 941-263-6045, otherwise I will communicate via e-mail. Thanks!***
________________________________
Under Florida law, e-mail addresses are public records. If you do not want your e-mail address released in response to a public-records request, do not send electronic mail to this entity. Instead, contact this office by phone or in writing. E-mail messages sent or received by City of Sarasota officials and employees in connection with official City business are public records subject to disclosure under the Florida Public Records Act.
From: Good Citizen
I see nothing referencing the salaries for the officers (this should require no redaction and little to no time to produce).
Nor do I see anything referencing item D in my initial request. Everything seems to be hidden behind the requirement for money. I have received zero records that are easily accessible with little to no redaction required.
Your "PRR #1856 Cost Sheet 2nd Time" is barely filled out. Are you the only FOIA officer available? Is there someone else who can address my request and fill in a proper cost sheet and release records that require little to no "excess time."
From: Sarasota Police Department
To whom it may concern,
Salary information is included within the personnel file under "personnel action papers" that was listed in my previous e-mail. Please make sure you are clearly reading what is being produced. Also, on the very first original response, it was clearly stated that we have no responsive records pertaining to B, C, and D. You will need to provide case numbers associated to the videos that where provided. We are unable to locate any such incident without proper information being provided. i.e., case numbers, date and time of interaction, names involved, etc..
And pertaining to the cost sheet "barley" filled out, the only sections that are filled are the ones that are pertaining to your request. The rest is blank due to the fact that it does not apply to your request. This is standard procedure for every request that is done here at the department.
Yes I am the Public Records Coordinator for the entire department and whom ALL requests go through for the department. ''
As previously stated, a deposit MUST be made in order to move forward with your request. We have already exceed the allowed time amount for the first 30 minutes that are free. Any other time spent on your request REQUIRES payment. You will receive the requested documents once your request has been paid for and completed. We will not release any documents until then.
Should you have any further questions, please let me know.
[SPDEmail]
Harley Bishop
Public Records Coordinator
Records Specialist II
Ph: 941-263-6818
Harley.Bishop@SarasotaFL.gov<mailto:Harley.Bishop@SarasotaFL.gov>
www.sarasotapd.org<http://www.sarasotapd.org/>
***NOTE: Please be advised that at this time I am working remotely and unable to answer any calls at my direct line. If you are in need of speaking to an individual, please call our records department at 941-263-6045, otherwise I will communicate via e-mail. Thanks!***
________________________________
Under Florida law, e-mail addresses are public records. If you do not want your e-mail address released in response to a public-records request, do not send electronic mail to this entity. Instead, contact this office by phone or in writing. E-mail messages sent or received by City of Sarasota officials and employees in connection with official City business are public records subject to disclosure under the Florida Public Records Act.
From: Good Citizen
Just to clarify, you're starting there is ZERO guidance or documents of any sort that reference first amendment activities and officer conduct regarding those activities (such a photography or filming)?
I still require a completely filled out cost sheet, I will not make payment without an accurate paper trail. Your listing for personnel records is acceptable, but the lack of cost per hour, agent fulfilling the request, and other key areas, is unacceptable. This will be the fourth attempt to get a cost sheet fulfilled with all relevant information (obviously, I do not expect every single portion to be filled out as some are post-payment). Are you refusing to provide me with a cost sheet with every block filled that can be filled with current information?
Beyond that, I'll be in touch. I believe with high confidence records that are easily accessible are being withheld from the the public. These documents are of public interest, after all.
From: Good Citizen
Just to clarify, you're starting there is ZERO guidance or documents of any sort that reference first amendment activities and officer conduct regarding those activities (such a photography or filming)?
I still require a completely filled out cost sheet, I will not make payment without an accurate paper trail. Your listing for personnel records is acceptable, but the lack of cost per hour, agent fulfilling the request, and other key areas, is unacceptable. This will be the fourth attempt to get a cost sheet fulfilled with all relevant information (obviously, I do not expect every single portion to be filled out as some are post-payment). Are you refusing to provide me with a cost sheet with every block filled that can be filled with current information?
Beyond that, I'll be in touch. I believe with high confidence records that are easily accessible are being withheld from the the public. These documents are of public interest, after all.
From: Sarasota Police Department
As previously stated, we have no responsive records pertaining to sections B, C and D of your request.
Also, the cost estimate sheet has been filled out properly several time and e-mailed to you and nothing further needs to be filled in pertaining to your request. Per F.S.S., we are only required to provide you with an estimate which has been done. We have gone above and beyond to try to satisfy your request and needs. The cost estimate has been attached.
As previously stated, a deposit MUST be made in order to move forward with your request. We have already exceed the allowed time amount for the first 30 minutes that are free. Any other time spent on your request REQUIRES payment. You will receive the requested documents once your request has been paid for and completed.
Should you have further questions, please advise.
[SPDEmail]
Harley Bishop
Public Records Coordinator
Records Specialist II
Ph: 941-263-6818
Harley.Bishop@SarasotaFL.gov<mailto:Harley.Bishop@SarasotaFL.gov>
www.sarasotapd.org<http://www.sarasotapd.org/>
***NOTE: Please be advised that at this time I am working remotely and unable to answer any calls at my direct line. If you are in need of speaking to an individual, please call our records department at 941-263-6045, otherwise I will communicate via e-mail. Thanks!***
________________________________
Under Florida law, e-mail addresses are public records. If you do not want your e-mail address released in response to a public-records request, do not send electronic mail to this entity. Instead, contact this office by phone or in writing. E-mail messages sent or received by City of Sarasota officials and employees in connection with official City business are public records subject to disclosure under the Florida Public Records Act.
From: Good Citizen
Why won't you fill out their cost sheet with the updated estimated hours minus the page copies? I do not understand why you won't do that, is it not part of the FOIA process?
PRR#1738 appears to be around the same page count, yet the charges are only for 10 hours at $18.75 per hour. I'm being charged for 12 hours at $30.37 per hour. This is DOUBLE other requests that are similar.
I'd like to be given the same fair treatment that you've given Martin Hyde.
From: Sarasota Police Department
As previously stated, the cost estimate that has been attached for you again does NOT include page copies. I am not sure what you are referring too by that statement. It is completely filled out pertaining to YOUR request.
Also, pertaining to Mr. Hyde's request, the rate at which you are charged is based off of the researching employee's hourly wage. That will differ from request to request depending on whom is fulfilling the request. Mr. Hyde asked for completely different documents which were obtained by a completely different department.
Please be advised that per F.S.S. 119.07(4)(d), fees regarding staff time shall be assessed for extensive requests that require preparation time in excess of thirty minutes. After the initial thirty minutes, staff charges will be assessed in thirty minutes increments based on the researching employee's hourly wage up to a maximum of $35/hr. and will require a 50% deposit before record processing will being. You will be notified of the amount due upon pick up of the records.
Please read what is being transpired to you completely. All of this has been previously explained. As previously stated, a deposit MUST be made in order to move forward with your request. We have already exceed the allowed time amount for the first 30 minutes that are free. Any other time spent on your request REQUIRES payment. You will receive the requested documents once your request has been paid for and completed.
Should you have further questions, please advise.
[SPDEmail]
Harley Bishop
Public Records Coordinator
Records Specialist II
Ph: 941-263-6818
Harley.Bishop@SarasotaFL.gov<mailto:Harley.Bishop@SarasotaFL.gov>
www.sarasotapd.org<http://www.sarasotapd.org/>
***NOTE: Please be advised that at this time I am working remotely and unable to answer any calls at my direct line. If you are in need of speaking to an individual, please call our records department at 941-263-6045, otherwise I will communicate via e-mail. Thanks!***
________________________________
Under Florida law, e-mail addresses are public records. If you do not want your e-mail address released in response to a public-records request, do not send electronic mail to this entity. Instead, contact this office by phone or in writing. E-mail messages sent or received by City of Sarasota officials and employees in connection with official City business are public records subject to disclosure under the Florida Public Records Act.
From: Good Citizen
Do you have any explanation as to why you initially listed 12 hours of work and now all the sudden you're charging me for 16 hours instead?
I'm very hesitant to pay for a records request if I can't verify I'm not being overcharged for the request, both in time and labor cost. Personnel records are routinely requested and all exempt information readily identified, so review and redaction aren’t that difficult. "Fair and reasonable" from F.S.S. 119.07(4)(d) to you is obviously different to me and I'd hope you'd understand why this is excessive when compared to other agencies fulfilling the same request.
I've been advised to ask for SPD's definition of the "extensive use fee." Do you have policy or documentation that states it?
From: Sarasota Police Department
The reasoning for the change in hours to fulfill the request is due to you asking for page counts. When this was done, the personnel who will be fulfilling the request actually counted each personnel file page to get exact page counts. From this task, which took 2 hours to complete by the way, we discovered that the original estimate was only for 750 pages total for all 3 personnel files. That number was way off. There are over 1200 pages combined.
So in order for our personnel employee to complete this, it will take her that amount of time. Anything that takes any employee over 30 minutes to fulfill is considered “extensive”. Please see our standard operating procedure attached.
We are being more than fair and reasonable for this request considering we have already spent 2 hours on this request and that was not charged to you. A deposit MUST be made in order to move forward with your request. We have already exceed the allowed time amount for the first 30 minutes that are free. Any other time spent on your request REQUIRES payment. You will receive the requested documents once your request has been paid for and completed.
If a deposit is not made, we will not be moving forward with this request.
Thanks,
[SPDEmail]
Harley Bishop
Public Records Coordinator
Records Specialist II
Ph: 941-263-6818
Harley.Bishop@SarasotaFL.gov<mailto:Harley.Bishop@SarasotaFL.gov>
www.sarasotapd.org<http://www.sarasotapd.org/>
***NOTE: Please be advised that at this time I am working remotely and unable to answer any calls at my direct line. If you are in need of speaking to an individual, please call our records department at 941-263-6045, otherwise I will communicate via e-mail. Thanks!***
________________________________
Under Florida law, e-mail addresses are public records. If you do not want your e-mail address released in response to a public-records request, do not send electronic mail to this entity. Instead, contact this office by phone or in writing. E-mail messages sent or received by City of Sarasota officials and employees in connection with official City business are public records subject to disclosure under the Florida Public Records Act.
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