Public Information Request (Williamson County Sheriff's Office)

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Tennessee Public Records Act, I hereby request the following records:

Scene of incident: 1010 Murfreesboro Rd., Franklin, TN 37064 Date: July 27, 2022

Nature of this request: This request is made under Tennessee Public Records Act to discover related information and documents that will aid in obtaining civil and/or criminal remedy against said officers.

DEFINITIONS

For purposes of these Tennessee Public Records Act Requests, including the sections marked “Definitions: and General Procedures,” the following terms shall have the meaning set forth below:
1. The term “Requestor” means only the person submitting the request.
2. “Subject officer” means those deputies or agents of the Williamson County Sheriffs Office who were on the scene described above.
3. “And” or “or” means “and/or”, with the singular form deemed to include plural and vice versa.
4. “Document” or “documents” means writings of every kind and character pertaining to the designated subject matter, including, without limitation, the original and a copy, regardless of origin or location, of any book, pamphlet, periodical, letter, memorandum, file, note, diary, calendar, newspaper, magazine, statement, bill, invoice, order, policy, telegram, correspondence, summary, receipt, opinion, investigation statement or report, schedule, manual, financial statement, audit, tax return, articles of incorporation, bylaws, stock book, minute book, agreement, contract, deed, security agreement, mortgage, deed of trust, title or other insurance policy, report record, study, hand written note, map, drawing, working paper, chart, paper, draft, index, tape microfilm, data sheet, data processing card, computer printout, computer program, check, bank statement, passbook or other written, typed, printed, photocopied, dittoed, mimeographed, recorded, transcribed, punched, taped, filmed, photographic or graphic matter, however produced, to which you have or have not had access.
5. “He” or any other masculine, feminine, or neuter pronoun means any individual, regardless of sex or entity to whom the Request otherwise would apply.
6. “Identify” or “Identity” means:
A) When used with reference to a natural person, his or her full name, present home address, present business address, present home and business telephone number, present or last known position and business affiliation at the time in question.
B) When used with reference to an entity, such as a partnership (either general or limited), joint venture, trust or corporation, to state the full legal name of such entity, each name under which such entity does business, the entity’s telephone number and the identity of the chief operating officer, manager, trustee, or other principal representative.
C) When used with reference to documents, to state specifically:
1) The type of document involved (e.g., letter, interoffice memorandum, etc.), together with information sufficient to enable the location of the document such as its date, the name and addressee and the name of any signor, the title of the heading of the document and its approximate number of pages; and
2) The identity of the custodian or other person last known to have possession of the document, together with the present or last known location of the document.
7. “Relating to” means pertinent, relevant or material to, evidencing, having a bearing on, or concerning, affecting, discussing, dealing with, considering or otherwise relating in any manner whatsoever to the subject matter of the inquiry.
8. “You” means each of the agencies or departments and each of your directors, officers, agents, employees, attorneys and representatives.
9. “Motor vehicle” means every vehicle that is self-propelled, excluding electric scooters, motorized bicycles, personal delivery devices, and every vehicle that is propelled by electric power obtained from overhead trolley wires. “Motor vehicle” means any low speed vehicle or medium speed vehicle as defined in this chapter.
10. “Motorcycle” means every motor vehicle that has a seat or saddle for the use of the rider and designed to travel on not more than three (3) wheels in contact with the ground, including an autocycle and does not include a tractor or motorized bicycle.
11. “Watchlist” a compilation of persons who are or will be placed and/or kept under surveillance or monitoring.
12. “Watchlisted” means to be placed and/or kept under surveillance or monitoring.
13. "Transfer" means to convey or cause to pass from one place, person, or thing to another using any mode or method.

To Williamson County Sheriffs Office:

Request for Disclosure:

1. Please provide a list or roster of legal names, badge numbers, job titles, weight, height, age, date of birth, and race of all deputies or agents assigned and their supervisor’s legal name, job title and badge numbers; law enforcement vehicle numbers to include motorcycles and to which deputy they are assigned; training records, disciplinary records, previous job assignment/location to include previous office title.

A) Please include date of employment and current official photo showing the entire unobstructed face.

B) Please also include an organizational chart for all positions in the Franklin Police Department.

2. Please disclose the badge numbers, job titles, legal names, rank weight, height, age, date of birth, race and addresses of Williamson County Sheriffs Deputies or agents associated with the motor vehicles that were at or near the scene described above.

A) Please disclose the badge numbers, job titles, legal names, rank weight, height, age, date of birth, race and addresses of the supervisory chain, from immediate supervisor to the top, of the Williamson County Sheriffs Deputies or agents who were associated with the motor vehicles that were at or near the scene described above.

B) Please provide, for any and all Williamson County Sheriffs Deputies or agents associated with the above incident/encounter, any and all Undertaking/Bond, bond amount, bond number, the bond holders name and address and the name and address of the claims adjuster.

C) Please supply a copy of any and all Oaths of Office duly executed and on file signed by the subject officer and of any and all proof of bonding covering said officers. Please indicate where they are kept on file and who maintains those records.

3. Please provide a copy of any and all Oaths of Office on file and duly executed by the Williamson County Sheriff.

4. Please provide a copy of any and all statements, declarations, policies, or oaths made, executed, directed, or otherwise supplied by the Williamson County Sheriff.

5. Please provide a copy of any Williamson County Sheriffs Office training manuals and documented standard operating procedures.

6. Please provide a copy of any Williamson County Sheriffs Office training schedules and training requirements.

7. Please provide a copy of documents related to any claims or other instances where the Williamson County Sheriffs Deputies or its agents paid or caused to be paid by Williamson County or any other entity any sum to compensate any complaints of negligence or abuse of any kind at the hands of Williamson County Sheriffs Deputies.

8. Please provide a copy of any and all complaints and supporting affidavits or other declarations that set forth any individual’s beliefs that Williamson County Sheriffs Deputies or agents engaged in racial profiling, used excessive force or engaged in criminal misconduct against any individual or individuals, and identify which of these if any were alleged to be racially motivated. Limit this request to those occurring after January 1, 2018.

9. As an ongoing request under the Tennessee Public Records Act, please supply any and all documents or other communication, memorandums, notices, or other transmissions generated by the Williamson County Sheriffs Office or their agent which was caused by this request for disclosure under the Tennessee Public Records Act.

10. Please identify all documents or communications of any nature which are requested hereby but which are not subject to disclosure under Tennessee Public Records Act and why such is the case.

11. Please provide all transcripts of all audio and/or video recordings. If they are not available please explain why.

I am seeking all non-exempt information.

If you determine that all or some portion of the information requested is exempted from required disclosure, please provide the portions of the requested information that are public and reasonably segregable from that which you believe is exempted. If any records are in active use or in storage, please certify this fact in writing and set a date and hour within a reasonable time when the records will be available.

If you determine that all or some portion of the information requested is exempted from required public disclosure under a particular exception, I request that you advise me as to which exemptions you believe apply. If you rely on previous determination, please advise me of the applicable court decision or Attorney General's opinion. If there is no such determination, please advise me of the request for such an opinion.

If any of the above listed records do not exist or don’t exist in any location within your access or control, please indicate so in your written response. If you are instructed not to provide any of these records to me, please provide the name and office of the person giving said instruction and the reason for not providing the records. If you do not respond with the requested documents or a written response as herein requested, it will be presumed that you were told to not respond.

In the event you feel this request is not handled by your office, then Requestor authorizes and requests that you provide notification of what specifically is not handled by your office and forward the inquiry to the responsible officer. Please also provide details of who the request was sent to. Include their name, job title and contact information.

The custodian is obligated to make the records available “promptly,” and if they are not made available promptly the custodian has seven business days to: 1) Make the records available; 2) Deny the request in writing, or; 3) State in writing the time it will need to produce the records. T.C.A. § 10-7-503(a)(2)(B). Some custodians have incorrectly believed that this seven day limit defines “promptly,” however, if records are not produced until seven days, that is not prompt. Jetmore v. Metro Gov’t of Nashville 2017 Tenn. App. LEXIS 688 (Tenn. Ct. App Oct. 12, 2017) (practice of providing only three records promptly and, as a matter of policy, only producing others much later was a willful violation of the Act)

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 7 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Kent Hoover, a citizen of Tennessee, in coordination with Shawn Craig.