April 22 / June 30 Coliseum Robbery Footage [BART]
| Submitted | July 13, 2017 |
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Communications
From: Rich Jones
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the California Public Records Act (California Government Code §§ 6250), I hereby request the following records:
Any and all security footage related to the widely-reported April 22, 2017 and and June 30, 2017 mass-robbings that occurred on BART trains near the Coliseum BART station. Please also include any related internal communications to this event, including but not limited to memorandums sent by BART Assistant General Manager Kerry Hamill to the BART Board of Directors, including Debora Allen. In addition, please include any digital communications related to these incidents sent to or from the BART Media Department, any statements prepared for spokesperson Taylor Huckaby, and any communications related to these events sent to or from the BART General Manager.
The existence of these documents were widely reported, including by Melissa Caen of CBS Local San Francisco, available online here: http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2017/07/09/bart-withholding-surveillance-videos-of-crime-to-avoid-stereotypes/
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,
Rich Jones
From: Alicia Trost
I am trying to reach Rich Jones to ask clarifying questions about this request. We are in the process of pulling the information.
The below asks for “any digital communications related to these incidents sent to or from the BART Media Department.”
Does this mean you want all emails sent by reporters to us about these events?
If so this will be hundreds of emails and we will need more time.
If the point is to see what we were saying in response we can more quickly provide those responses as we had prepared responses to the incident.
Please let us know.
Alicia Trost
BART, Communications Dept. Manager
ATrost@bart.gov<mailto:ATrost@bart.gov>
510-464-6154 (work)
510-414-4725 (cell)
@AliciaTrost
*Media voicemail line for major service disruptions 510-874-7464
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From: Rich Jones
Hello Alicia, thank you for your prompt reply!
Yes, in addition to the footage itself, I am also seeking any related digital communications (emails and chat messages), including questions and answers with reporters, comments from the public, and internal discussions between BART employees about the event.
Thank you!,
Rich Jones
From: Alicia Trost
Ok. I've turned over all internal emails (we don't have chat messages) about the incidents and all the statements we provided to the public/reporters. I kept a word document that I saved all the relevant info I provided to reporters. This word document has been printed and turned over to the District Secretary's office as well as all internal emails.
I didn't print all the emails I got from reporters. There are tons of them. Our responses to them we pretty much the same from the statements that I did print for you.
Video isn't being released for 3 reasons:
It's an active investigation
We have suspects in custody so the video is evidence
Juveniles are involved and california law outlines that this info should be made public.
So unless I hear otherwise I will print out all the emails we got from reporters and how we responded. It is extensive and our response is the same to all.
Alicia Trost
Communications Department Manager
San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District
510-464-6154 (desk)
510-414-4725 (cell)
Atrost@bart.gov<mailto:Atrost@bart.gov>
Media voicemail line during major service disruptions 510-874-7464
From: Rich Jones
Thank you Alicia, I look forward to receiving those documents.
Your response times have been absolutely fantastic, a true rarity in FOIA. A pleasure.
Please note that I will be appealing the decision not to release the video tape itself so that this issue may be addressed at the appellate level.
Thank you!
Rich
From: Mag Tatum
Mr. Jones,
The District's initial response to the subject CPRA is attached.
Kindest Regards,
Mag Tatum mtatum@bart.gov<mailto:mtatum@bart.gov>
Senior Analyst
District Secretary's Office
San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART)
300 Lakeside Drive, 23rd Floor
Oakland, CA 94612
(510) 464 - 6083
From: MuckRock.com
To Whom It May Concern:
I'm following up on the following California Public Records Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on July 13, 2017. You had previously indicated that it would be completed on Aug. 11, 2017. I wanted to check on the status of my request, and to see if there was a new estimated completion date.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Mag Tatum
Mr. Jones,
The District's completed response to the subject CPRA is attached.
Kindest Regards,
Mag Tatum mtatum@bart.gov<mailto:mtatum@bart.gov>
Senior Analyst
District Secretary's Office
San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART)
300 Lakeside Drive, 23rd Floor
Oakland, CA 94612
(510) 464 - 6083
