Police Misconduct Records and Internal Affairs Investigations
| Submitted | May 18, 2023 |
| Est. Completion | None |
MuckRock users can file, duplicate, track, and share public records requests like this one. Learn more.
Communications
From: Jordan Lassiter
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Arizona Public Records Law, I hereby request the following records:
Tempe Police Department
120 E. 5th Street
Tempe, AZ 85281
To Whom It May Concern:
Subject: Freedom of Information Act Request - Detailed Police Misconduct Records, Internal Affairs Investigations, and Litigation Cases
Pursuant to the Arizona Public Records Law, A.R.S. §§ 39-121 to 39-122 and 39-128, I hereby request the following records:
Reports of alleged excessive force by Tempe Police Department officers from the past five years (2018 to 2023).
Reports of alleged abuse of authority within the Tempe Police Department from the past five years.
Reports of alleged unlawful arrest or search by Tempe Police Department officers from the past five years.
Reports of alleged discrimination by Tempe Police Department officers from the past five years.
Reports of alleged sexual assault by Tempe Police Department officers from the past five years.
Reports of alleged dishonesty within the Tempe Police Department from the past five years.
Completed internal affairs investigations related to the aforementioned misconduct reports.
Any and all findings or documents produced by internal affairs related to the misconduct reports and investigations.
Records of any litigation cases involving the Tempe Police Department related to the aforementioned categories of misconduct, including case numbers, parties involved, and final judgments or settlements.
I want to highlight a few court cases that underscore the importance of public access to such information. The U.S. Supreme Court stated in NLRB v. Robbins Tire Co., 437 U.S. 214 (1978), that the core purpose of the FOIA is to contribute to public understanding of the operations or activities of the government. Furthermore, in Carlson v. Pima County, 141 Ariz. 487 (1984), the Arizona Supreme Court reiterated the significance of the state's public records law for public accountability.
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 business days.
Sincerely,
Jordan Lassiter
From: Tempe Police Department
A letter stating the requester must agree to or prepay assessed or estimated fees in order for the agency to continue processing the request.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Arizona Public Records Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on May 18, 2023. 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: Jordan Lassiter
To Whom It May Concern:
Please find enclosed a check for $5.00 to satisfy the fee associated with the attached public records request.
Thank you.
City of Tempe
Jeanne Pennington
120 E 5th Street
Tempe, AZ 85281
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Arizona Public Records Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on May 18, 2023. 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 Arizona Public Records Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on May 18, 2023. 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 Arizona Public Records Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on May 18, 2023. 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 Arizona Public Records Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on May 18, 2023. 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 Arizona Public Records Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on May 18, 2023. 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 Arizona Public Records Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on May 18, 2023. 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 Arizona Public Records Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on May 18, 2023. 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: Tempe Police Department
A fix is required to perfect the request. Postmark: September 28, 2023
From: Tempe Police Department
Good Afternoon,
I am attempting to contact someone to discuss information regarding a public records request that was submitted to the Tempe Police Department on May 31, 2023. As this request is very extensive, there is an extended time for response.
Please contact back via email using 'Reply All' to discuss the request and timeframe to fulfill.
Thank you,
Sharronda Campista
Sharronda Campista
Management Assistant
Office of the Chief
Tempe Police Department
[cid:image001.png@01DAB1E9.F35A5210]
-
image001
From: Jordan Lassiter
Good Afternoon Sharronda,
Thank you for your prompt response regarding the public records request submitted to the Tempe Police Department on May 31, 2023. I appreciate your acknowledgement of the extensive nature of this request and the extended timeframe required to fulfill it.
I would like to discuss the details of the request and the expected timeline for its completion. Please let me know a convenient time for us to have this discussion, and I will make sure to be available.
I look forward to your response.
Best regards,
Jordan
From: Tempe Police Department
Hi Jordan,
Thanks for the response to Sharronda’s email. I will be the new point of contact for this request moving forward. Are you available to discuss this request any of the following dates/times? I’d be happy to set up a Teams meeting so we could discuss this if so.
* Tuesday, June 11, 2024, anytime between1400-1600 hours Mountain Standard time
* Thursday, June 13, 2024, anytime between 0800-1100 and 1300-1700 Mountain Standard Time
* Tuesday, June 18, 2024, anytime between 1030-1500 hours Mountain Standard Time
If none of these work please let me know and I will come up with some additional dates/times.
Thanks,
Lieutenant Sean Still
Executive Officer to the Chief of Police
Tempe Police Department
480-858-6492 Office
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Arizona Public Records Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on May 18, 2023. 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: Tempe Police Department
Hi Jordan,
I am not sure if you sent the email below or if it was a coworker of yours. I wanted to send a reply in reference to the “follow up” email sent on Tuesday, 6/25/24 at 1001pm, we never received a response from our original email sent on June 11, 2024. To refresh your memory I have copied and pasted the email as we responded and were hoping to have a conversation to clarify your request. As I did not receive a response I will update our available dates/times in which we can discuss this request.
* July 2 1-5pm Mountain Standard Time
* July 3 10-12pm, 1pm-4pm Mountain Standard Time
* July 9 1pm-4pm Mountain Standard time
* July 11 8-9 and 10-11am, Mountain Standard Time.
Hope one of these works out for you. If not, please let me know what days/times work best for you.
Respectfully,
Lt. Sean Still
Subject: RE: Arizona Public Records Law Request: Police Misconduct Records and Internal Affairs Investigations
Hi Jordan,
Thanks for the response to Sharronda’s email. I will be the new point of contact for this request moving forward. Are you available to discuss this request any of the following dates/times? I’d be happy to set up a Teams meeting so we could discuss this if so.
* Tuesday, June 11, 2024, anytime between1400-1600 hours Mountain Standard time
* Thursday, June 13, 2024, anytime between 0800-1100 and 1300-1700 Mountain Standard Time
* Tuesday, June 18, 2024, anytime between 1030-1500 hours Mountain Standard Time
If none of these work please let me know and I will come up with some additional dates/times.
Thanks,
Lieutenant Sean Still
Executive Officer to the Chief of Police
Tempe Police Department
480-858-6492 Office
From: Tempe Police Department
Good Afternoon,
I wanted to follow up with you as I have not received any response in reference to my previous emails in hopes of being able to have a conversation with you and obtain clarification on the nature and extent of your request. We would like to be able to move forward with processing your request and need to discuss it with you before we are able to proceed. I am available to discuss these any of the following upcoming dates/times:
* July 22nd 0800-1200 Mountain Standard Time
* July 22nd 1300-1700 Mountain Standard Time
* July 23rd 1300-1630 Mountain Standard Time
* July 24th 0800-1200 Mountain Standard Time
* July 24th 1300-1700 Mountain Standard Time
* July 25th 1300-1700 Mountain Standard Time
* July 29th 0800-1200 Mountain Standard Time
* July 29th 1300-1700 Mountain Standard Time
* July 30th 1500-1700 Mountain Standard Time
Hopefully one of these several dates works out for you. If not, please let me know what dates/times works best for you.
Respectfully,
Lt. Sean Still
From: Jordan Lassiter
To: Tempe Police Department
Subject: Re: Arizona Public Records Law Request: Police Misconduct Records and Internal Affairs Investigations
Good Afternoon Lt. Still,
Thank you for your email. I appreciate your efforts to clarify and move forward with processing my request. I am available to discuss the details of my request on July 22nd between 0800-1200 Mountain Standard Time.
Please let me know if this time works for you, and if there is anything specific I should prepare for our conversation.
Thank you for your assistance.
Best regards,
Jordan
From: Tempe Police Department
Good Morning Jordan,
I will be available this morning between 0800-0900 in my office, 480-858-6492, and available to speak with you then. We are attempting to clarify your requests to help determine exactly what you were looking for as multiple requests were submitted, and we wanted to prevent duplication. I look forward to speaking with you then.
Thanks,
Lt. Still
From: Tempe Police Department
Good Morning Jordan,
Thank you for speaking with me over the phone yesterday to clarify your requests so we can move forward with processing them. As stated during our conversation I wanted to provide you with a recap and to memorialize what we discussed in an email.
* The original request sent on May 31, 2023, will be replaced with the new request that was sent on March 26, 2024 (as they are similar in nature)
* Funds paid for the May 31, 2023, request on June 19, 2023, will be transferred to the March 26, 2024, request. (Paid $5.00 deposit)
* The March 26, 2024, request will remain in our queue and will be processed according to our discussion. May 31, 2023, request will not be processed as it was replaced and you will obtain the similar data in the new request.
Thanks for your help, and please let me know if you need anything further.
Respectfully,
Lt. Sean Still
Tempe Police Department
480-858-6492
From: Jordan Lassiter
Confirmed I am formally withdrawing this request thank you for taking your time to speak with me yesterday it was a pleasure.