2021 United States Capitol attack and other 'protests' (Maine State Police)
It is a clone of this request.
| Multi Request | 2021 United States Capitol attack and other 'protests' |
| Submitted | Aug. 25, 2021 |
| Est. Completion | None |
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Communications
From: Emma North-Best
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Maine Freedom of Access Act, I hereby request the following records:
Records regarding the potential for violence, unrest, criminal activities or other disturbances associated with protests or other activities on either January 5 or January 6, 2021 at local, regional or national events. This request includes but is not limited to inter-departmental communications, situational reports, bulletins and other documents.
I am a member of the news media and request classification as such. I have previously written about the government and its activities, with some reaching over 100,000 readers in outlets such as Gizmodo, MuckRock, Motherboard, Property of the People, Unicorn Riot, and The Outline, among others. As such, as I have a reasonable expectation of publication and my editorial and writing skills are well established. In addition, I discuss and comment on the files online and make them available through non-profits such as the library Internet Archive and the journalist non-profit MuckRock, disseminating them to a large audience. While my research is not limited to this, a great deal of it, including this, focuses on the activities and attitudes of the government itself. As such, it is not necessary for me to demonstrate the relevance of this particular subject in advance.
As my primary purpose is to inform about government activities by reporting on it and making the raw data available, I request that fees be waived.
I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as we believe this request is in the public interest, as suggested but not stipulated by 1 M.R.S.A. § 408(6). The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.
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,
Emma North-Best
From: Maine State Police
Dear Ms. North-Best:
This email is sent to acknowledge our agency’s receipt of your FOAA request below.
We will respond further soon. Please note at this time that I expect that access to at least some records responsive to the request might need to be denied once what, if any, records we have are searched for, ascertained, and reviewed. See 1 M.R.S. § 402(3)(A), 408-A(4). See also 16 M.R.S. § 804.
Respectfully, C
Chris
CHRISTOPHER PARR
STAFF ATTORNEY, MAINE STATE POLICE
LEGISLATIVE LIAISON AND COORDINATOR, DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY
FREEDOM OF ACCESS ACT AGENCY CONTACT, DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY
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From: Maine State Police
Dear Ms. North-Best:
This email further responds to your FOAA request for Maine State Police records – namely:
Records regarding the potential for violence, unrest, criminal activities or other disturbances associated with protests or other activities on either January 5 or January 6, 2021 at local, regional or national events. This request includes but is not limited to inter-departmental communications, situational reports, bulletins and other documents.
Through the request, I understand you to be seeking records of the kind specified that were sent, received, or created by the Maine State Police preceding and including on 06 January 2021.
At this time, I estimate that the fee to process the request will exceed thirty dollars ($30); accordingly, when time allows, and per the FOAA (see 1 M.R.S. § 408-A(9)), please let me know if you would like our agency to continue our work on the request, or if you would like to in any way narrow the scope of the request.
In addition, when time permits, would you please provide the following?:
1. The beginning date of the timeframe the request contemplates (for example, records of the kind specified that were sent, received, or created by the Maine State Police between 20 December 2020 and 06 January 2021);
2. Whether there are any specific search terms you would like our agency to use when electronic searches for responsive records are conducted.
Thank you in advance for your attention to this matter.
Respectfully, C
Chris
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From: Emma North-Best
Between 20 December 2020 and 06 January 2021 is fine, and "Capitol" and "Washington" should work as simple search terms.
Thank you!
From: Maine State Police
Thank you. Based on your response, I infer that you want us to proceed with our work on the request even though the cost to process the request will exceed $30.
I will compute a more informed time and cost estimate as soon as I can and forward that to you.
In the meantime, we will move forward with the processing of the request.
Respectfully, C
Chris
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From: Maine State Police
Dear Ms. North-Best:
At this time I estimate that the fee to process this request will be $115 to $130, and that the request will be able to be processed within the next 30 to 45 business days.
Please note that the fee and timeframe estimates I have provided above are exactly that - estimates; the processing fee may be less or more than as stated, and more or less time may be needed to process the request.
Respectfully, C
Chris
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From: Emma North-Best
"At this time I estimate that the fee to process this request will be $115 to $130."
That seems rather high, and more than I'm willing to pay. Can you explain how you arrived at the estimate?
From: Maine State Police
There are at least 9 individuals I have identified who will need to search for records responsive to your request.
If one assumes that each individual will need to spend 20’ on a search, that totals to 220’.
220’/60’ = 3 hours, 40’ (3.67 hours). 3.67 * $15 (allowable staff time hourly charge, per FOAA) = $55.05.
Assuming then that 4 hours will be needed to review the records to determine whether they may be released in redacted or nonredacted format: 4 * $15 = $60 + $55 = $115.
Adding in the potential for time I might need to dedicate to coordinating an Office of Information Technology email search (I assumed an hour, for the purposes of computing the estimate), then $130.
Again, more or less time might be needed to process the request.
If you wish to modify or not go forward with the request, please let me know.
Respectfully, C
Chris
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From: Emma North-Best
I'm sorry, but based on that information, I'm not going to proceed with this request. I sincerely appreciate your help, however!
From: Maine State Police
You’re welcome.
Respectfully, C
Chris
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