Jason Van Dyke - FBI probe

To Whom It May Concern:

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

- I am seeking any and all records that the FBI has related to the fatal shooting of a teenager Laquan McDonald by Chicago Police officer Jason Van Dyke
- On Nov 24, 2015 a story ran in Chicago that stated "Alvarez said the FBI contacted the Cook County state's attorney's office in November 2014, a few weeks after the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, and the two offices began working together on the case in December." (source: https://www.nbcchicago.com/blogs/ward-room/Alvarez-Opponents-Question-Timeline-of-Release-of-McDonald-Video-353183351.html)
- On October 5th of 2018, Jason Van Dyke was convicted of manslaughter for the killing of Laquan McDonald. (source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2018/10/05/chicago-police-officer-jason-van-dyke-convicted-of-second-degree-murder-for-killing-laquan-mcdonald )
- Therefore I am requesting any and all documents that the FBI has on this case which is now concluded.
- I am explicitly asking your agency to conduct a “cross-referenced” search for records relevant to your inquiry. *Do not limit your search to the Central Records System*
- I am also request a search of “ELSUR” (Electronic Surveillance) records. These include the names of all people and/or locations for which the agency sought a court order for electronic surveillance.

I am a journalist with bylines in the Chicago Reader and have published FOIA documents that have been central to stories in Reason, The Intercept and other publications. Therefore, I request both a fee waiver and classification as a journalist for fee categories.

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 20 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Freddy Martinez

Under the Freedom of Information Act I am formally appealing this denial by the Federal Bureau of Investigations.

First, they state the b7 exemption for these records which according to the DOJ:

Exemption 7 of the FOIA, as amended, protects from disclosure "records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes, but only to the extent that the production of such law enforcement records or information (A) could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings".

The FBI has not stated which, if any records, they have that are exempt from disclosure. They are required to produce any and all records and only withhold or redact those records which "could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings". The FBI has not done so in this case.

The FBI has also not demonstrated how the production of these records would "interfere with enforcement proceedings". The documents in question pertain to a person who has already been convicted of a crime. The FBI has provided any evidence that there is an ongoing law enforcement proceeding that the production of the record could "reasonably" interfere with.

Finally, we seek records between the FBI and the Cook County States Attorney Office which ultimately charged the individual in question. The FBI ultimately did not charge the individual who was ultimate charged by the States Attorney. Therefore, I believe their application of the b7 exemption should not apply as they are not the law enforcement agency that has an _ongoing_ law enforcement proceeding.

Thank you,
Freddy Martinez

To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following request, copied below. 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.