Seattle Police Dept. communications w/ "L-3 Communications VPC" and acquisition and use of "Range-R" equipment

Bernard Rodriguez filed this request with the Seattle Police Department of Seattle, WA.
Status
Completed

Communications

From: Bernard Rodriguez

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to RCW Ch. 42.56 (Public Records Act), I hereby request the following records:

To Whom It May Concern:

Brad Heath of USA TODAY [^1] reported on January 20, 2015: "At least 50 U.S. law enforcement agencies quietly deployed radars that let them effectively see inside homes, with little notice to the courts or the public".

Heath's article mentions technology developed by "L-3 Communications VPC", specifically a hand-held doppler radar device knows as: "RANGE-R"[^2].

[^1]: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/01/19/police-radar-see-through-walls/22007615/
[^2]: http://www.range-r.com/index.htm

* * * *

Pursuant to Chapter 42.56 RCW, the Public Records Act, I request:

1. Records regarding your agency's acquisition of hand-held doppler radar devices, including but not limited to invoices, purchase orders, contracts, loan agreements, evaluation agreements, solicitation letters, correspondence with companies and public agencies that provide the devices, and similar documents. With specific attention to above with regard to "L-3 Communications", and the "RANGE-R" device.

2. Records regarding any offer, proposal, arrangement, agreement, or memorandum of understanding with Washington State Patrol ("WSP"), Naval Criminal Investigative Service ("NCICS"), Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI"), U.S. Marshals Service, FBI's Data Intercept Technology Unit ("DITU"), King County Regional Intelligence Group ("KCRIG"), Pierce County Regional Intelligence Group ("PCRIG"), South Sound Regional Intelligence Group ("SSRIG"), or any corporation, to borrow, permanently acquire from, or use any radar devices such as L-3 Communications' "RANGE-R" owned or possessed by the WSP, NCICS, FBI, U.S. Marshals, DITU, KCRIG, PCRIG, SSRIG, or corporation

3. All nondisclosure agreements with L-3 Communications.

4. Records regarding policies and guidelines governing use of radar devices, including but not limited to 1) when, where, how, and against whom they devices may be used, 2) logging, retention, purging, use, and auditing data stored in or communicated from the devices, 3) under what circumstances administrative warrant, judicial warrant, or other legal process must, should, or should not be obtained prior to, during, or following direct or indirect use of the devices, 4) under what circumstances the existence or use of the devices must, should, or should not be revealed to judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, criminal defendants, or the general public., and 5) parallel construction techniques for use in avoidance of disclosure of the initial method of discovery of information gained initially by use of radar devices such as L-3 Communications' "RANGE-R".

5. Training materials for use of radar devices such as L-3 Communications' "RANGE-R" and relevant equipment.

6. Records reflecting the number of investigations in which radar devices such as L-3 Communications' "RANGE-R", were used, the number of those investigations that resulted in prosecutions, and the number of those investigations that resulted in convictions

7. Records reflecting a list of all criminal cases, with docket numbers if available, in which law enforcement officers or other staff used or arranged for the use of one or more radar devicessuch as L-3 Communications' "RANGE-R", as part of the underlying investigations

8. All applications submitted to state or federal courts for warrants, orders, or other other authorization for use of radar devices, such as L-3 Communications' "RANGE-R", in criminal investigations, as well as any warrants, orders, authorizations, denials of warrants, denials of orders, denials of authorization, and returns of warrants associated with those applications

9. Records regarding the use of radar devices, such as L-3 Communications'"RANGE-R", in closed investigations

10. Date and docket number of any responsive records that are sealed

11. All associated metadata

I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as I believe this request is in the public interest. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.

In the event that fees cannot be waived, 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.

Sincerely,

Bernard Rodriguez

From: SPD-PDR, SPD

RE: Public Disclosure Request # P2015-455

Dear Mr. Bernard Rodriguez,
This letter is in response to your public disclosure request dated January 25, 2015 and received by the Seattle Police Department’s Public Disclosure Unit on January 26, 2015 for the information listed below relating to hand-held doppler radar devices.

Pursuant to RCW 42.56.520, this is notification that we have received your public disclosure request, and we anticipate it may take up to 5 weeks from the date of this notification to respond. Therefore we anticipate a response to you on or about March 2, 2015.

This additional time is used to research this request, collect responsive records, and/or prepare records for dissemination. Please note: Seattle Police Department currently receives approximately 4,500 public disclosure requests annually.

If you have any questions or need further assistance with this request, please contact the Public Disclosure Desk at 206-684-5481.

Sincerely,

Kathleen M. O’Toole
Chief of Police

Bonnie Voegele
Records Manager

From: SPD-PDR, SPD

RE: Public Disclosure Request # P2015-455

Dear Mr. Bernard Rodriguez,
This letter is in response to your public disclosure request dated January 25, 2015 and received by the Seattle Police Department’s Public Disclosure Unit on January 26, 2015 for the information listed below relating to hand-held doppler radar devices.

Currently SPD does not own any products referenced below and therefore does not have many responsive documents. Units contacted were: Homeland Security, Fiscal, Audit and Procedures/Compliance, Intel, Special Operations Bureau Chief, and SWAT.

Enclosed please find a copy of the records you have requested.

You may file a written appeal of this response with the SPD’s Legal Unit within ten (10) business days from the date of receipt. Please include your name and address, a copy of the redacted document and a copy of this letter together with a brief statement identifying the basis of the appeal. Please mail or deliver your appeal to:

Seattle Police Department
Attn: Legal Unit
610 Fifth Avenue
P.O. Box 34986
Seattle, WA 98124-4986

This concludes the Seattle Police Department’s response to your request.

If you have any questions, please contact the Public Disclosure Desk at 206-684-5481.

Sincerely,

Bonnie Voegele

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