LMPD Footage of the arrest of Christian Armstrong
| Submitted | June 15, 2020 |
| Est. Completion | None |
MuckRock users can file, duplicate, track, and share public records requests like this one. Learn more.
Communications
From: Public Member
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Kentucky Open Records Act, I hereby request the following records:
Body-worn camera footage from the LMPD officers who participated in the arrest of Christian Armstrong on Sunday, May 31st.
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 3 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Public Member
From: Louisville Metro Police Department
Per the first attachment 'filing requests through Muckrock starts at just $20.00 to file up to four requests...' The LMPD is treating your request as a commercial Purpose request. Per KRS 61.870(4)(a) a Commercial Purposes request is defined as ....'the direct or indirect use of any part of a public record or records, in any form, for sale, resale, solicitation, rent or lease of a service, or any use by which the user expects a profit either through commission, salary or fee." Fees charged by Metro Louisville departments vary, see below for a breakdown of hourly charges. Please complete, notarize and return the attached Commercial Purpose form via email (notary not required at this time and you do not have to mail the original form back if you have emailed it) to move forward with your request. If this form is not returned in 10 business days (Tuesday, June 30, 2020) your request will be closed.
Metro fee per department - $25.00 per hour and up
-
SKMBT_28320061114350
From: Public Member
To Whom it May Concern:
I dispute the assertion by LMPD that this is a commercial request. MuckRock is a registered *non-profit* (501(c)(3)) that files requests on behalf of the public. They charge for the act of filing requests (creating a template message, sending it to the correct organization, and tracking the response) but they do not use any of the records received for a commercial purpose, nor do they expect a profit as any funds received are used towards their stated mission: "To be the easiest way to request, analyze and share government documents in order to make politics more transparent and our democracy more informed".
To reiterate, the documents received will be made available to the general public, free of charge, and will not be used for any commercial purposes.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter.
Sincerely,
Public Member
From: Louisville Metro Police Department
Per the attached the LMPD has already responded to this request.
-
RE: Kentucky Open Records Act Request: LMPD Footage of the arrest of Christian Armstrong
From: Public Member
Please see the previous response, the request was incorrectly denied as commercial purpose. See the linked requests below where Louisville Metro Police have selectively released records to MuckRock in the past without designating them as commercial purpose. Please let me know if you are continuing to assert they are commercial and I will proceed with my appeal to the Attorney General's office.
Thank you,
Public Member
https://www.muckrock.com/foi/louisville-209/joshua-jaynes-personnel-file-94532/
https://www.muckrock.com/foi/louisville-209/police-complaints-data-louisville-metro-police-91664/
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Kentucky Open Records Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 15, 2020. 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: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Kentucky Open Records Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 15, 2020. 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: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Kentucky Open Records Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 15, 2020. 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: Louisville Metro Police Department
Per the attached the LMPD has fulfilled its statutory obligation under the Kentucky Open Records Act.
From: Louisville Metro Police Department
KRS 61.872(3)(b) requires a requestor that lives or has their principal place of business outside of the county where the requested records are located to precisely describe records that are readily available. Your request is for body-worn camera footage from the LMPD officers who participated in the arrest of Christian Armstrong on Sunday, May 31st. "A description is sufficiently precise for purposes of records access by mail if it describes the records in definite, specific and unequivocal terms." 13-ORD-077, p. 2, quoting 98-ORD-17. "A request must be 'specific enough so that a public agency can identify and locate the records in question." 18-ORD-068, p. 2, quoting 13-ORD-077, p.3. Your request for body cam video from 'the LMPD officers' is not sufficiently precise as you have failed to identify the names of the officers who would have made the arrest of Christian Armstrong.
The LMPD body cam storage system requires, at minimum, an officer name, event location and date to locate body cam footage. Body cam footage cannot be located using a defendant / suspect's name and the Open Records Act does not require an agency to conduct research in order to respond to an open records request. Please provide this office with the name of the arresting officer(s) so a search may be conducted for the requested body cam video.
Your request, as written, cannot be fulfilled. LMPD's body cam storage system requires, at minimum, an officer name, event date, and/or event location to locate any video. Body cam videos are neither categorized nor located via a citizen's name, as you have provided.
Files
pages