Passenger inspection notes photos reports 2016-11-10

To Whom It May Concern:

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

One or more people who appeared to be transit agency staff but did not identify themselves investigated most or all riders (including me) on the northbound Sounder passenger train from Tacoma to Seattle, including the second car from front, at approximately 8:55 a.m. on Thursday, November 10, 2016. I do not know of any reason for the man who investigated me to have suspected me of fare evasion. He seemed to believe that I had committed fare evasion, demanding proof that I had not violated the law. I asked if he had reason to suspect me of such, and in response, he informed me 1) that he did not have any such reason, and 2) because he had no reason to suspect me of such, he would investigate everyone on the train. This seemed illogical, but I wanted not to anger him, so did not press for clarification of his bizarre reasoning. The man was dressed not in typical train conductor uniform, but in military-style, "tactical" pants and a motorcycle-rider-style jacket similar to those worn by peace officers employed by Washington State Patrol. Wishing to cooperate with this unknown man and go on about my lawful business without further interference, I searched diligently for such proof of my innocence, he did not offer to sell fare to me in case I wished to purchase it. I asked him if he would offer to sell fare to those who wished to purchase it. He said that he would not. This indicating to me that his goal was not to ensure that everyone on the train paid the required fare, increasing my anxiety about his investigation of me. I suggested that if he wished to ensure that all passengers paid the fare, selling tickets to those who have not yet paid would be a very effective way to do so. I pointed out that in my experience, this is the way public rail transit typically operates. He did not acknowledge this, but coldly informed me that this particular train does not operate in that manner.

If this unidentified man was, in fact, a public employee, I wish to review the accuracy of any records related to his unwarranted investigations of me and other presumed-innocent transit riders that your staff created during and as a result of those investigations, to verify the suitability for purpose of the machines your staff apparently use to verify fare payment via methods that are completely invisible to those people who are under investigation, to determine whether your investigatory staff are known to be capable of performing these investigations in a lawful and satisfactory manner, and to discover any reports of malfeasance on the part of these staff.

I have observed that people appearing to be Sound Transit staff regularly photograph and make written notes about some passengers during their investigations.

I request:
1. The content of those notebooks used by staff who worked the aforementioned train on the aforementioned date
2. The content of those cameras used by staff who worked the aforementioned train on the aforementioned date
3. Images captured by the aforementioned staff on the aforementioned date that are no longer on their cameras
4. Any electronic "notes" created by the aforementioned staff on the aforementioned date during the course of performing their job duties on that date
5. All reports filed by the aforementioned staff on that date and/or in regard to their work duties on that date
6. E-mail sent or received by the aforementioned staff on the aforementioned date
7. Text messages sent or received by the aforementioned staff while "on the clock" performing their public duties on the aforementioned date
8. Warnings, notifications, and citations pertaining to suspected fare evasion authored by the aforementioned staff on the aforementioned date
9. Staff shift roster applicable to the aforementioned train on the aforementioned date
10. Records of certification, licensing, bonding, and training of the aforementioned staff
11. Log of use of hand-held transit pass scanner devices (i.e., database of device's RFID contact with cards, etc.) used by the aforementioned staff on the aforementioned date
12. Records of certification of accuracy of the aforementioned hand-held transit pass scanner device
13. Records of software updates to hand-held transit pass scanner device
14. Current budget for fare evasion investigations on Sounder such as that which I described above
15. Reports generated in past three years detailing estimated and/or actual cost of fare evasion on Sounder (i.e., opportunity cost of transporting passengers who neglected to pay the fare)
16. Notes, memos, e-mails, etc., to fare evasion investigation staff concerning fare evasion investigation policies since November 9

Please prevent staff from destroying these public records--some of which were created just minutes or seconds prior to my filing of this request with you--prior to your making them available to the public. RCW 42.56.100 states, "If a public record request is made at a time when such record exists but is scheduled for destruction in the near future, the agency, the office of the secretary of the senate, or the office of the chief clerk of the house of representatives shall retain possession of the record, and may not destroy or erase the record until the request is resolved."

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 5 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Phil Mocek

To whom it may concern:

I also request #17: All complaints about the aforementioned staff received in the past three years

Cordially,
Phil Mocek

To Whom It May Concern:

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

One or more people who appeared to be transit agency staff but did not identify themselves investigated most or all riders (including me) on the northbound Sounder passenger train from Tacoma to Seattle, including the second car from front, at approximately 8:55 a.m. on Thursday, November 10, 2016. I do not know of any reason for the man who investigated me to have suspected me of fare evasion. He seemed to believe that I had committed fare evasion, demanding proof that I had not violated the law. I asked if he had reason to suspect me of such, and in response, he informed me 1) that he did not have any such reason, and 2) because he had no reason to suspect me of such, he would investigate everyone on the train. This seemed illogical, but I wanted not to anger him, so did not press for clarification of his bizarre reasoning. The man was dressed not in typical train conductor uniform, but in military-style, "tactical" pants and a motorcycle-rider-style jacket similar to those worn by peace officers employed by Washington State Patrol. Wishing to cooperate with this unknown man and go on about my lawful business without further interference, I searched diligently for such proof of my innocence, he did not offer to sell fare to me in case I wished to purchase it. I asked him if he would offer to sell fare to those who wished to purchase it. He said that he would not. This indicating to me that his goal was not to ensure that everyone on the train paid the required fare, increasing my anxiety about his investigation of me. I suggested that if he wished to ensure that all passengers paid the fare, selling tickets to those who have not yet paid would be a very effective way to do so. I pointed out that in my experience, this is the way public rail transit typically operates. He did not acknowledge this, but coldly informed me that this particular train does not operate in that manner.

If this unidentified man was, in fact, a public employee, I wish to review the accuracy of any records related to his unwarranted investigations of me and other presumed-innocent transit riders that your staff created during and as a result of those investigations, to verify the suitability for purpose of the machines your staff apparently use to verify fare payment via methods that are completely invisible to those people who are under investigation, to determine whether your investigatory staff are known to be capable of performing these investigations in a lawful and satisfactory manner, and to discover any reports of malfeasance on the part of these staff.

I have observed that people appearing to be Sound Transit staff regularly photograph and make written notes about some passengers during their investigations.

I request:
1. The content of those notebooks used by staff who worked the aforementioned train on the aforementioned date
2. The content of those cameras used by staff who worked the aforementioned train on the aforementioned date
3. Images captured by the aforementioned staff on the aforementioned date that are no longer on their cameras
4. Any electronic "notes" created by the aforementioned staff on the aforementioned date during the course of performing their job duties on that date
5. All reports filed by the aforementioned staff on that date and/or in regard to their work duties on that date
6. E-mail sent or received by the aforementioned staff on the aforementioned date
7. Text messages sent or received by the aforementioned staff while "on the clock" performing their public duties on the aforementioned date
8. Warnings, notifications, and citations pertaining to suspected fare evasion authored by the aforementioned staff on the aforementioned date
9. Staff shift roster applicable to the aforementioned train on the aforementioned date
10. Records of certification, licensing, bonding, and training of the aforementioned staff
11. Log of use of hand-held transit pass scanner devices (i.e., database of device's RFID contact with cards, etc.) used by the aforementioned staff on the aforementioned date
12. Records of certification of accuracy of the aforementioned hand-held transit pass scanner device
13. Records of software updates to hand-held transit pass scanner device
14. Current budget for fare evasion investigations on Sounder such as that which I described above
15. Reports generated in past three years detailing estimated and/or actual cost of fare evasion on Sounder (i.e., opportunity cost of transporting passengers who neglected to pay the fare)
16. Notes, memos, e-mails, etc., to fare evasion investigation staff concerning fare evasion investigation policies since November 9
17. All complaints about the aforementioned staff received in the past three years

Please prevent staff from destroying these public records--some of which were created just minutes or seconds prior to my filing of this request with you--prior to your making them available to the public. RCW 42.56.100 states, "If a public record request is made at a time when such record exists but is scheduled for destruction in the near future, the agency, the office of the secretary of the senate, or the office of the chief clerk of the house of representatives shall retain possession of the record, and may not destroy or erase the record until the request is resolved."

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 5 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Phil Mocek

Dear Sir or Madam,

Please provide a status update on your processing of my Public Records Act request of November 10, 2016. Three months have passed, and I have yet to receive so much as an acknowledgement of receipt of my request.

Cordially,
Phil Mocek