Bergen County loses lawsuit over transparency of police records
Over a year after suing the Bergen County Sheriff's Office for allegedly violating the Open Public Records Act, the Penns Grove civilian police director, who sued in his capacity as a citizen, finally has his requested records.
In May 2022, Richard Rivera filed a lawsuit that said he was denied access to internal affairs reports and information related to police misconduct by members of the Sheriff's Office when he requested them in March 2022.
Rivera also had won a judgment against the Union County Prosecutor's Office that ruled internal affairs reports were accessible to the public "pursuant to the common law right of access where the common law balancing test weights in favor of disclosure."
He requested information on three officers listed in the attorney general's 2021 Major Discipline Report: Officer John Mara, who was suspended for 10 days, Officer Steven DeAngelis, who was suspended for 25 days, and Officer Cindy Castro, who was fired. All three were disciplined for violating "departmental policies and procedures," but the report didn't list specifically what the officers did, the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit said that because there was missing information, Rivera filed a request via his attorney for the Sheriff's Office to provide a brief summary of the officers' violations. The Sheriff's Office denied the request, saying the decision regarding internal affairs reports was still under review and that the records custodian, Gene Kolich, did not recognize the requester.
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The denial letter said it bore similarities to the law firm Pashman Stein Walder Hayden but the email didn't appear to "relate back to a person or entity." A return letter from Rivera's attorney stated that Rivera was the requester and that only his interest mattered.
"BCSO blatantly violated the AG’s major discipline directive by failing to tell the public what the officers did to be disciplined," said Rivera's attorney, CJ Griffin. "It took a lawsuit to learn the information that should have been posted on their website."
The information released for Rivera's request showed that Castro was fired for fraternizing with an inmate.
Griffin said it will be "almost impossible" to file similar lawsuits because the Supreme Court ruled there is no fee-shifting, or transferring legal costs to the losing party, in common-benefit cases. She said that if the state Legislature passes bills to make internal affairs records subject to OPRA, it will be easier to get information.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Bergen County NJ loses lawsuit over police records, IA reports
