Travel History Of Officer, Possible???

[Mec4040]

What is the name of your state? NY



Hello everyone,

I'm having a problem with being able to prove a certain officer arrived on the scene, along with the other officers. Meaning... About a year or so, I was at the wrong place at the wrong time, when a bunch of officers walked over to me and asked me alot of questions. After they were done, I asked for one of their shield numbers and found out the hard way, that as a citizen, I should never have done that. Because I was swiftly arrested, held for 8 hrs, then released with no charges. (Guess they wanted to teach me a lesson). The day this happened, about 5 or so patrol cars pulled up. From what I remember, there were alot of officers and only 2 supervisor officers (Sergeants).

The Problem...The supervising officer who was there to give the order to arrest me, is claiming he was never, ever there!

The Questions...What are some possible methods to find out where this Sgt. was during that day? Would there be a GPS device in his patrol car(This is a NYC police Dept Vehicle)? Or a certain log report? (Not sure what its called)...but maybe a radio record of Sgt. to dispatch?

As you can tell, I'm not familiar with the steps/protocol that cops must make when they arrive to the scene. I'm hoping that someone on this forum, might know of a way to prove this Sgt. was there when I was arrested.

I truly would be very, very thankful for any help.

Jon

 

[CdwJava]

Dispatch records should be a matter of public record. It might take some pushing, but you should be able to find out who was out at your scene.

Have you filed a complaint?

Are you involved in a civil suit of some kind?

- Carl

 

[You Are Guilty]

FOIL is your friend. Send it to:

New York City Police Department
Freedom of Information Law Unit
Room 110C
1 Police Plaza
New York, New York 10038-1497

 

[Mec4040]

First want to thank you both for taking out the time to help.

Cdwjava...yes there is a civil suit started. My problem is with this one Sgt. who is claiming he was never at the scene. The city's Attorney said that the Sgt was never at the scene or near it. You mentioned about possible dispatch records being of help. How does a dispatch record work? Meaning, is it a log report showing the sgt talking back and forth with dispatch?

The city's Attorney has a small...small list of which officers where there, however I know for a fact the Sgt was there but done know how to prove this.

Would this dispatch record show every officer that showed up...or only the ones that checked back in with dispatch to say they are taking the call? Also do you know how long this record is stored for...1 month, 6 months, etc???

You Are Guilty...you mentioned about using a FOIL request. I did file a foil but it was for my personal report. I remember reading about foil requests and they say that when you make one, you must spell out what you want, in detail. Because if its not direct, then they will decline the request.

What would be the BEST way to word this foil request? What are some of the things I should ask for?

I apologize for asking so many questions...and I know I said this before but I really do appreciate all the help. Thanks so much!


Jon

 

[CdwJava]

Cdwjava...yes there is a civil suit started. My problem is with this one Sgt. who is claiming he was never at the scene. The city's Attorney said that the Sgt was never at the scene or near it. You mentioned about possible dispatch records being of help. How does a dispatch record work? Meaning, is it a log report showing the sgt talking back and forth with dispatch?

I can't say how it works in New York City, but I suspect that if the Sergeant put himself out at the scene, the computer aided dispatch system will have a record of this. You might also seek an audio tape of the radio traffic that will show that the sergeant was present. Or, maybe, a statement from another officer that he was there.

Just how important is it to show that this particular sergeant was present.

Would this dispatch record show every officer that showed up...or only the ones that checked back in with dispatch to say they are taking the call? Also do you know how long this record is stored for...1 month, 6 months, etc???

Policy and practice vary. You should not expect audio to remain MORE than 30 days ... it may be destroyed or copied over much sooner than that. The dispatch logs will likely remain for a year or more ... in my state these are often held for many years per statute as public records.


- Carl