Sheriff Data Collection Request (2021)
| Tracking # |
2022-625 |
| Submitted | Sept. 11, 2022 |
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Communications
From: Samuel Sinyangwe
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Washington Public Records Act, I hereby request the following records:
1. the total number of use of force incidents, separated by type of force and year used in 2021 (for example, information that specifies the number of taser incidents in 2021, baton incidents in 2021, etc.). Please include as part of this a breakdown of how many use of force incidents in each year were related to law enforcement operations and how many were related to correctional/custodial operations.
2. the total number of civilian complaints alleging any form of law enforcement misconduct that were reported and the total number sustained in 2021.
3. the total number of civilian complaints alleging law enforcement use of excessive force that were reported and the total number sustained in 2021.
4. the total number of civilian complaints alleging biased policing or racial profiling that were reported and the total number sustained in 2021.
5. the total number of civilian complaints alleging criminal conduct that were reported and the total number sustained in 2021.
6. the total number of officer involved shootings in 2021, both fatal and non-fatal.
When available, I would appreciate being sent individualized data for each item in this request in spreadsheet format. If individualized data are unavailable, please send information that includes aggregate statistics for the item instead.
Note that my requests for civilian complaints are specifically for civilian complaints alleging police misconduct, please do not include complaints filed by one officer/the department against another officer.
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,
Samuel Sinyangwe
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Washington Public Records Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on Sept. 11, 2022. 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: Whatcom County Sheriff's Office
Good morning,
On September 12, 2022 Whatcom County received your request for public records. It was assigned tracking number 2022-625 and was forwarded to the department(s) where we reasonably expected any responsive records to be found.
We estimate that it may take until November 30, 2022 to provide any records to you, but we will do so sooner if possible. If you do not receive any correspondence regarding this request by that date, please contact my office.
Thank you,
Tammy Dixon
Public Records Officer
Whatcom County
311 Grand Ave., Suite B-04
Bellingham, WA 98225
360-778-5233
Tammy Dixon
Public Records Officer
Whatcom County
311 Grand Ave., Suite B-04
Bellingham, WA 98225
360-778-5233
From: Whatcom County Sheriff's Office
Good afternoon,
The Whatcom County Sheriff's Office has advised they need additional time to respond to your request.
We estimate that it may take until January 16, 2022 to provide any records to you, but we will do so sooner if possible. If you do not receive any correspondence regarding this request by that date, please contact my office.
Thank you,
Tammy Dixon
Public Records Officer
Whatcom County
311 Grand Ave., Suite B-04
Bellingham, WA 98225
360-778-5233
From: Whatcom County Sheriff's Office
I apologize. I realize I wrote an incorrect date before. I meant to write January 16, 2023.
Tammy Dixon
Public Records Officer
Whatcom County
311 Grand Ave., Suite B-04
Bellingham, WA 98225
360-778-5233
From: Whatcom County Sheriff's Office
Greetings,
Please find our response to your public records request for use of force and complaint data from 2021 attached to this email.
For use of force data there are two documents attached...a report in PDF format and the data in Excel format. Please note that our database cannot report out the information exactly as you have requested it, so the raw data is provided for you to do your own analysis if you wish. Specifically, the PDF report displays a line of information for each deputy involved in a single incident, and for each type of force used. If two deputies each use two types of force in a single incident, the report will show this as 4 lines of use of force data. I have included the tracking number for each incident, which will allow you to group multiple report lines into a single incident if you wish.
For complaint data there are also two documents attached... a report in PDF format and the data in Excel format. Please note that our database cannot report out the information exactly as you have requested it, so the raw data is provided for you to do your own analysis if you wish. Specifically, the PDF report displays a line of information for each deputy involved in a single complaint, and for each allegation made. If two deputies are each accused of two allegations in a single complaint, the report will show this as 4 lines of complaint data. I have included the tracking number for each incident, which will allow you to group multiple report lines into a single complaint if you wish.
Thank you.
[cid:image001.png@01D5D4F1.FB288040]
Chief Deputy Steve Gatterman
Whatcom County Sheriff's Office
Phone 360-778-6623
Web http://www.whatcomcounty.us/Sheriff<https://nam03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.whatcomcounty.us%2FSheriff&data=02%7C01%7CSGatterm%40co.whatcom.wa.us%7Cbd82f4977c7d40af967b08d7a5e321c9%7C2122bbce9a1d4565931b0c534ef12e43%7C0%7C0%7C637160267329630606&sdata=%2B8InmBGovzU4FRt5fLb9ZSAP8jXLMs3Q7Eq6XCdQTQY%3D&reserved=0>
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