1033 equipment use and policies - agencies with MRAPs (South Lake Tahoe Police Department)
| Multi Request | 1033 equipment use and policies - agencies with MRAPs |
| Submitted | July 27, 2021 |
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Communications
From: John Lindsay-Poland
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the California Public Records Act, I hereby request the following records:
Records of your agency related to the deployment and use of controlled equipment obtained through the 1033 Program of the Department of Defense, as set forth below.
According to records posted by the Defense Logistics Agency (https://www.dla.mil/DispositionServices/Offers/Reutilization/LawEnforcement/PublicInformation/), your agency acquired controlled equipment through the 1033 program, as reflected in the attached spreadsheet, including a Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle.
I. Requests for Records
Records Request No. 1: All Documents constituting, reflecting, relating to or that contain current use policies if any for each type of 1033-program controlled equipment, including situations or circumstances in which use is authorized or prohibited.
Records Request No. 2: Records that list the dates, locations, suspected offense(s) or rationale for operation, controlled equipment deployed, arrests, and uses of force for each deployment of 1033-program controlled equipment since July 1st, 2019, specifically: armored vehicles such as Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAPs) vehicles, firearms, and night vision equipment.
Records Request No. 3: All records of complaints regarding the use and impact of 1033-program controlled equipment, including correspondence, visual or audio-visual materials, and responses to complaints.
Records Request No. 4: Documents that constitute, reflect, relate to or that contain rationales or criteria for acquisition of 1033-program controlled equipment, prior to its acquisition.
II. Response Time
Please provide requested documents as they become available.
Please respond to this request in ten (10) days, either by providing the requested information or providing a written response setting forth the specific legal authority on which you rely in failing to disclose each requested record, or by specifying a date in the near future to respond to the request. See Cal. Gov’t Code § 6255. Pursuant to section 6253, please disclose all reasonably segregable non-exempt information from any portions of records you claim are exempt from disclosure.
To assist with the prompt release of responsive material, we ask that you make records available to us as you locate them, rather than waiting until all responsive records have been collected and copied.
The American Friends Service Committee seeks this information as the requestor to promote and provide public access to these documents and increase civic engagement. Because this request is made on behalf of a nonprofit public interest organization, with the intent to make this material easily accessible to the public, we request that you waive any fees. In responding to this request, please keep in mind that Article 1, § 3(b)(2) of the California Constitution expressly requires you to broadly construe all provisions that further the public’s right of access, and to apply any limitations on access as narrowly as possible.
If you would like to discuss these requests, please feel free to reach out to either John Lindsay-Poland, co-director of the Healing Justice Program at 510-282-8983 or Nathaniel Phillipps, the Ristad Fellow at 559-994-3647.
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,
John Lindsay-Poland
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California1033ControlledEquipent.xlsx
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following California Public Records Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on July 27, 2021. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: South Lake Tahoe Police Department
Hi,
The last time I received a records request for policies from MuckRock News, everything I gathered and sent came back undeliverable and I could not get a hold of anyone. Before I forward this along to have policies and information on our MRAP printed, I wanted to verify the legitimacy of this request and what the information being requested is for.
Thanks,
Ashley R. Acker
Police Records Supervisor
South Lake Tahoe Police Department
Main/ 530-542-6100
Desk/530-208-0216
aacker@cityofslt.us<mailto:aacker@cityofslt.us>
[City Logo Email Signature]
Please note, my regular work days are Monday-Friday, 7am-3pm.
This is a verified communication from the City of South Lake Tahoe. If you suspect that this message was not sent from a verified source, contact the City of South Lake Tahoe IT department at it@cityofslt.us
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From: John Lindsay-Poland
Dear Ms. Acker,
Thanks for pulling together documents in response to my PRA request. I used Muckrock for this and similar requests because I am seeking similar information from a large number of police and sheriff agencies in California. It's legitimate.
As noted in the original request, "The American Friends Service Committee seeks this information as the requestor to promote and provide public access to these documents and increase civic engagement. ... this request is made on behalf of a nonprofit public interest organization, with the intent to make this material easily accessible to the public". I can tell you more how we are going to use it, but I don't think that is relevant to whether the records are releasable.
If you have other questions, please don't hesitate to contact me at jlindsay-poland@afsc.org or by phone at 510-282-8983.
Sincerely,
John Lindsay-Poland
American Friends Service Committee
From: South Lake Tahoe Police Department
Hi John,
Perfect, thanks so much! I’ll get this fulfilled.
Ashley R. Acker
Police Records Supervisor
South Lake Tahoe Police Department
Main/ 530-542-6100
Desk/530-208-0216
aacker@cityofslt.us<mailto:aacker@cityofslt.us>
[City Logo Email Signature]
Please note, my regular work days are Monday-Friday, 7am-3pm.
From: South Lake Tahoe Police Department
Good Morning,
The City Clerk's Office is in receipt (received August 23, 2021) of your Public Record Request and it will be fulfilled in accordance to the Public Records Act.
Please provide the spreadsheet noted on page 2 paragraph 4.
Please send all future correspondence to this email.
Sincerely,
Susan Blankenship, CMC
City Clerk
City of South Lake Tahoe, CA
o/(530) 542-6005
c/(530) 318-1461
f/(530) 542-7411
sblankenship@cityofslt.us<mailto:sblankenship@cityofslt.us>
[City Logo Email Signature]
http://www.cityofslt.us<http://www.cityofslt.us/>
Please note that email correspondence with the City of South Lake Tahoe, along with attachments, may be subject to the California Public Records Act, and therefore may be subject to disclosure unless otherwise exempt.
This is a verified communication from the City of South Lake Tahoe. If you suspect that this message was not sent from a verified source, contact the City of South Lake Tahoe IT department at it@cityofslt.us
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image001
From: South Lake Tahoe Police Department
The City Clerk's Department was able to download the spreadsheet from this site and will forward to staff.
TY
From: South Lake Tahoe Police Department
As indicated in my correspondence to you on August 25, 2021, the City Clerk’s office received your Public Records Act request on August 23, 2021. Contrary to the statement in your letter dated August 6, we have no records of any prior Public Records Act request being made on July 27 . At the time the City Clerk’s office received your request, the City of South Lake Tahoe had activated its Emergency Operations Center to respond to the Caldor Fire, and a local emergency was proclaimed on August 26. On August 30, the entire City was evacuated and normal City operations were suspended. As a result, I was evacuated from my office at City Hall and the Police Department has been fully consumed with the emergency response to the fire and unable to search for records, and I was unable to respond to your request during that time. Under Government Code section 6352(c)(1)-(2), the time to respond is extended because of these unusual circumstances for 14 days, until September 16, to let you know whether the City has disclosable public records responsive to your request.
Sincerely,
Susan Blankenship, CMC
City Clerk
City of South Lake Tahoe, CA
o/(530) 542-6005
c/(530) 318-1461
f/(530) 542-7411
sblankenship@cityofslt.us
From: South Lake Tahoe Police Department
As indicated in my correspondence to you on August 25, 2021, the City Clerk's office received your Public Records Act request on August 23, 2021. Contrary to the statement in your letter dated August 6, we have no records of any prior Public Records Act request being made on July 27. At the time the City Clerk's office received your request, the City of South Lake Tahoe had activated its Emergency Operations Center to respond to the Caldor Fire, and a local emergency was proclaimed on August 26. On August 30, the entire City was evacuated and normal City operations were suspended. As a result, I was evacuated from my office at City Hall and the Police Department has been fully consumed with the emergency response to the fire and unable to search for records, and I was unable to respond to your request during that time. Under Government Code section 6352(c)(1)-(2), the time to respond is extended because of these unusual circumstances for 14 days, until September 16, to let you know whether the City has disclosable public records responsive to your request.
Sincerely,
Susan Blankenship, CMC
City Clerk
City of South Lake Tahoe, CA
o/(530) 542-6005
c/(530) 318-1461
f/(530) 542-7411
sblankenship@cityofslt.us<mailto:sblankenship@cityofslt.us>
[City Logo Email Signature]
http://www.cityofslt.us<http://www.cityofslt.us/>
Please note that email correspondence with the City of South Lake Tahoe, along with attachments, may be subject to the California Public Records Act, and therefore may be subject to disclosure unless otherwise exempt.
This is a verified communication from the City of South Lake Tahoe. If you suspect that this message was not sent from a verified source, contact the City of South Lake Tahoe IT department at it@cityofslt.us
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image001
From: John Lindsay-Poland
Dear Ms. Blankenship:
I hope you , family members and community members emerge from the Caldor fire safely. We know it is a tough time. Thank you for letting me know about your timeline for responding to my request. If you need any information or have questions regarding the request, feel free to contact me.
I used a platform for this request, called MuckRock, which sometimes experiences delays between when the request is submitted and when the agency receives it, which I believe is why the request I submitted in late July did not reach you until several weeks later.
best,
John Lindsay-Poland
Tel: 510-282-8983
Email: jlindsay-poland@afsc.org
From: South Lake Tahoe Police Department
Good morning John,
We have located responsive documents for the first and second requests (uploaded). For the third request, there are no responsive documents because we have not received any complaints. For the fourth request, we will provide any that we find within 3 weeks (October 7). Note: Certain documents have been withheld pursuant to Government Code section 6254(a) because they are preliminary drafts not retained in the ordinary course of business.
Have a good day!
Sincerely,
Susan Blankenship
From: South Lake Tahoe Police Department
Good morning John, (this is a duplicate message to the one on the MuckRock platform)
We have located responsive documents for the first and second requests (attached). For the third request, there are no responsive documents because we have not received any complaints. For the fourth request, we will provide any that we find within 3 weeks (October 7). Note: Certain documents have been withheld pursuant to Government Code section 6254(a) because they are preliminary drafts not retained in the ordinary course of business.
Have a good day!
Sincerely,
Susan Blankenship
Sincerely,
Susan Blankenship, CMC
City Clerk
City of South Lake Tahoe, CA
o/(530) 542-6005
c/(530) 318-1461
f/(530) 542-7411
sblankenship@cityofslt.us<mailto:sblankenship@cityofslt.us>
[City Logo Email Signature]
http://www.cityofslt.us<http://www.cityofslt.us/>
Please note that email correspondence with the City of South Lake Tahoe, along with attachments, may be subject to the California Public Records Act, and therefore may be subject to disclosure unless otherwise exempt.
This is a verified communication from the City of South Lake Tahoe. If you suspect that this message was not sent from a verified source, contact the City of South Lake Tahoe IT department at it@cityofslt.us
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image001
From: South Lake Tahoe Police Department
Good afternoon John, (this is a duplicate message to the one sent via email)
In response to Records request 4. – No responsive documents exist.
Your records request has now been fulfilled.
Have a great evening.
Sincerely,
Susan Blankenship, CMC
City Clerk
City of South Lake Tahoe, CA
o/(530) 542-6005
c/(530) 318-1461
f/(530) 542-7411
sblankenship@cityofslt.us
From: South Lake Tahoe Police Department
Good afternoon John, (this is a duplicate message to the one on the MuckRock platform)
In response to Records request 4. - No responsive documents exist.
Your records request has now been fulfilled.
Have a great evening.
Sincerely,
Susan Blankenship, CMC
City Clerk
City of South Lake Tahoe, CA
o/(530) 542-6005
c/(530) 318-1461
f/(530) 542-7411
sblankenship@cityofslt.us<mailto:sblankenship@cityofslt.us>
[City Logo Email Signature]
http://www.cityofslt.us<http://www.cityofslt.us/>
Please note that email correspondence with the City of South Lake Tahoe, along with attachments, may be subject to the California Public Records Act, and therefore may be subject to disclosure unless otherwise exempt.
This is a verified communication from the City of South Lake Tahoe. If you suspect that this message was not sent from a verified source, contact the City of South Lake Tahoe IT department at it@cityofslt.us
-
image001
From: John Lindsay-Poland
Dear Ms. Blankenship,
Thanks so much for your help with this request. I very much appreciate it.
Sincerely,
John Lindsay-Poland
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