Hi, I must have sent you this link as it is not out there in the wild 🙂 Chances are you emailed me and asked for some help, relax, help is on the way. This page took a long time to be made, from my early days of doing open records requests up to now. All of the key learnings, tips, tricks and all sorts of twists and turns have been packed into this page. It is a LOT and I am constantly adding and modifying it so book mark it for future reference.
The original open records GOAT!
The video below is all about some liars at the Georgia State Patrol. Oh well
Judge Krause – Check the live stream section – https://www.youtube.com/@judgerachelkrause3014/streams
The Georgia Open Records Act – March 2016
If you want a deeper understanding on where the Georgia Courts are on the open records laws check these videos out.
#AshleighMerchant #FultonCounty #FaniWillis #GeorgiaLaw #CourtHearing
Fulton County Judge Rachel Krause ://www.youtube.com/@judgerachelkrause3014
Who am I? here is a glimpse into the chaotic world I operate in
“Inspect what you expect” “Question everything”
Alright, buckle up—here’s the deep-dive intel most people (even some lawyers) don’t know you can get:
P.O.S.T. Complaints & Disciplinary Files
Georgia P.O.S.T. investigates misconduct that could affect certification—lying, criminal acts, abuse of authority, etc.
How to get it:
- File a request directly to Georgia P.O.S.T. for:
- Complaint forms
- Investigation summaries
- Final disposition letters
- Certification status history
Pro tip: Ask for the “Administrative Investigation file and attachments” by officer name and DOB (if known).
Internal Affairs (IA) Case Files
Most departments have IA units or designated investigators.
Request items like:
- Entire IA case file (including interviews, notes, exhibits)
- Audio/video recordings of interviews
- IA case logs by year (list of all opened cases)
- Disposition memos and recommendation memos
- Witness statements
Pro tip: Even if the case is “closed with no findings,” the underlying file is still public under Georgia Open Records law.
Body Cam Footage “Goes Missing”? Track It
If body cam footage is “lost,” here’s how to bust them:
Request:
- AXON audit trail for that video
- Evidence.com user access logs
- CAD log for the incident (to prove the encounter happened)
- Axon camera assignment log (proves the officer had a camera that day)
Pro tip: If they say “no footage exists,” but metadata shows the camera was recording—file a complaint or report to Georgia Archives Division or the Attorney General.
Officer GPS & Vehicle Tracking
You can request vehicle activity reports or AVL/GPS logs, especially for patrol units.
Ask for:
- GPS coordinates for a date/time range
- The vehicle assignment log
- AVL playback reports (these sometimes include mapping)
AXON Auto-Activation Logs
AXON cameras can start recording when:
- A gun is unholstered (Signal Sidearm)
- A patrol vehicle lights up (Signal Vehicle)
- Another nearby officer’s camera starts
You can request:
- Signal activation logs
- Axon camera firmware data
- Policy manual on Signal activations
Use of Force Reports (First Pages)
Even if they redact names or remove certain details, the first page of use of force reports is almost always public. Ask for:
- All reports in a given date range
- Or all incidents involving a specific officer
Audio from Interviews, Not Just Paper
IA, P.O.S.T., or even simple misconduct interviews are often audio recorded but never transcribed unless forced by court.
Request the actual recordings, not just summaries.
The Hidden E.A.I.H. File
Many Georgia agencies maintain an Employee Administrative Investigative History (EAIH) file. It’s like an officer’s private “rap sheet” of every complaint, use of force, or admin violation—even if it didn’t lead to discipline.
Ask for it by name:
“The Employee Administrative Investigative History (EAIH) file for [officer’s full name].”
A lot of the times it is someone asking how to get body cam and records from an incident they had with law enforcement. This is a simple answer but can become complex. Usually, they (law enforcement) make it difficult. So this guide is packed with tips and tricks to help you get the records you need!
The first and most critical records to obtain in any law enforcement-related inquiry are the Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD) sheet and the Incident Report—both of which are distinct from a standard “Police Report,” which often lacks substantive detail.
Why These Records Matter:
- CAD Sheet:
- Generated by E-911 services (a separate entity from the Sheriff’s Office or Police Department).
- Contains timestamps, responding officer information, dispatch communications, call details, and radio traffic related to the incident.
- Crucial for verifying response times, officer involvement, and potential discrepancies in the official narrative.
- Incident Report:
- Official documentation prepared by the responding officer(s).
- Typically contains initial observations, involved parties, and statements but is often crafted with public relations in mind, meaning it may be sanitized or omit critical details.
How to Obtain These Documents:
- CAD Sheet: Request it from the E-911 services department, which operates independently from law enforcement agencies and often has separate open records request procedures.
- Incident Report: Obtainable from the Sheriff’s Office or Police Department through a public records request.
These documents serve as foundational evidence when conducting investigative journalism. They not only provide verifiable data such as officer response times, radio communications, and event timelines, but they also serve as leverage when requesting additional records—such as body camera footage, dash cam recordings, officer logs, and internal communications.
Why This Matters for Journalists:
Law enforcement agencies frequently present curated narratives to the media, omitting inconvenient details or altering the framing of events. The CAD sheet and incident report allow journalists to compare the official account against real-time data, exposing inconsistencies or misconduct.
These records are just the first step in a comprehensive investigative process. A well-informed journalist leverages open records laws to piece together the full story, ensuring transparency and accountability.
CAD sheets are all similar in nature, below is an example of a CAD sheet.
Georgia Open Records Act https://law.georgia.gov/key-issues/open-government/law
The Georgia Open Records Act (O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 et seq.) ensures public access to government records. If an agency fails to comply with the law, you have the right to file a complaint with the Georgia Attorney General’s Officeat the following link: https://law.georgia.gov/key-issues/open-government/open-government-complaint
Steps to Strengthen Your Complaint:
- Escalate the Request Internally
- Before filing with the Attorney General (AG), escalate your request to higher-ranking officials within the agency. Is is more effective than you may think, it has helped me a great deal!
- Often, a records custodian may deny access incorrectly, while supervisors or legal counsel may provide a resolution.
- Cite the Specific Law Violated
- Reference the exact provision of the Georgia Open Records Act (GORA) that was violated.
- Example: If an agency fails to respond within three business days (O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71(b)), cite this section explicitly.
- Provide a Complete Record of Communications
- The AG’s Office often requests a full email chain documenting your correspondence with the agency.
- Include dates, agency responses (or lack thereof), and any denials received.
- Archive all emails, letters, and phone call details related to the request.
- Record Phone Calls for Evidence (Georgia is a One-Party Consent State)
- Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 16-11-66) permits one-party consent recording, meaning you do not need the other party’s permission to record phone calls.
- If you discuss your request over the phone, record the conversation as evidence of an agency’s refusal or misleading statements.
- Demonstrate the Records Exist
- Agencies sometimes claim records don’t exist when they do.
- Before filing a complaint, gather independent proof that the records are maintained by the agency.
- This could include citing agency policies, prior public disclosures, or related documents proving their existence.
- Use Your Full Legal Name
- The Attorney General will not enforce the law for anonymous citizens.
- Ensure your request was submitted using your full legal name before escalating to the AG’s office.
Final Notes:
Filing a complaint with the Georgia Attorney General can be an effective method of holding agencies accountablefor noncompliance with public records laws. However, strong documentation and a well-supported legal argumentwill significantly increase the likelihood of enforcement.
kristen Settlemire of the Attorney Generals office.
Did you know you can even get body cam? Yes, you can!
Let’s say you get pulled over, yanked out of your car (common) assaulted and have your rights violated? What do you do? You start remembering names and times that’s what you do!! Let’s say you don’t have the cops name and the police are ghosting you. Request the CAD sheet, talked about in depth below, that will give you the cops name then bingo you get body cam and dash cam to start. Then send it to me, I know exactly what to do with it! Madvideos@gmail.com
What kind of body cam does the agency have if any? A great way to determine this is looking at the agencies Facebook page. AXON is the most popular camera and has a distinguished look. As seen in the image below
Often times you can find officers wearing their body cam in an image on the agencies Facebook. A commonly used technique when I start any investigation. AXON being the best one because we can get the AXON body cam audit trail report.
Example of a few AXON Audit trail reports. Discussed more later. The first is a Body cam 2, the second is a 4. Notice how different they are.
I send these instructions when I request that report.
https://my.axon.com/s/article/Device-Audit-Trail-Information?language=en_US
For the AXON 2 audit trail I simply request the date and time
The AXON 4 audit report I just use the description as outlined in the image below.
In the image below you see how I actually requested the body cam
Based on the Axon Body Cam Audit Trail Report, here are the types of open records requests that could be made:
1. Body-Worn Camera Footage
- Request specific Axon Body 4 videos listed in the report by date, time, and evidence title.
- Example: “Axon Body 4 Video 2024-10-25 1417 D01A4197R”
2. Evidence Retention & Deletion Records
- Request details on when evidence was scheduled for deletion and if any videos were erased.
- Example: Retention changes for body cam footage, such as deletions set for 04/23/2025.
3. Access Logs & Evidence Handling
- Request logs of who accessed, streamed, downloaded, or shared body cam footage.
- Example: Log entries show Lt. Phillip Hambrick and Amy Muhammad accessing files.
4. Incident Reports & Dispatch Logs
- Request incident reports or CAD (Computer-Aided Dispatch) logs related to traffic stops, felonies, or arrests categorized in the system.
5. Internal Communications
- Request emails or memos about evidence tampering, retention policies, or changes to body cam categories.
Here are a couple open records custodians I had problems with
Milliron v. Antonakakis https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=18313799750776210584&q=Milliron+v.+Antonakakis,&hl=en&as_sdt=4,11
GONZALEZ v. THE STATE https://www.gasupreme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/s24a0913.pdf
If I already have an officers name I use the Facebook search function on the agencies page to look for the officer. Another common technique I use. I almost always request their image from the agency via an open records request as well.
Troubles in requests
Often times we ask for records and get exemptions with no real way to validate if what they are telling us is true, until now! Keep reading to find out how I silence them and force compliance.
No responsive records!
One of the most common exemptions in Georgia is the case is still pending 50-18-72 (a) (4) Records of law enforcement, prosecution, or regulatory agencies in any pending investigation or prosecution of criminal or unlawful activity, other than initial police arrest reports and initial incident reports; provided, however, that an investigation or prosecution shall no longer be deemed to be pending when all direct litigation involving such investigation and prosecution has become final or otherwise terminated And we can see an example of one of my requests below reflect such exemptions. Note* The agency does have to state the exemption as cited in the Open Records act. However in this instance I have done hundreds of requests on this agency so it is well known we both understand.
If you want to read the agencies policy, you can click on it below and scroll to read it. This is pretty much a global policy for law enforcement, some variations may occur but over all they usually have the same policies for Body cam, tasers, use of force etc..
To even go further, if they violate this policy they can be reprimanded for violating the agencies policy. I am posting a few write ups below to show what happens with this particular agency.. it is generally the same across the board, IF an agency decides to do anything about it at all!
If you want to see different types of policy write ups, check out Richard Russells IA file, he has a nice collection, if you want to know who Richard Russell is, I have assembled a playlist below (133 video series on one cop!) This joker is still running away from law enforcement because I keep finding him!! He is very mad 🙂
Or the cop simply didn’t activate their body cam per their Agency Policy. As shown in the image below (worst match). Or they are lying! (Best match)
To see an example of violation body cam policy read and watch Sudiran SOOSAIPILLAI
At any rate there is often some excuse as to why you can’t get body cam and sometimes dash cam, which btw, The Georgia State Patrol still does not have body cams in 2025!! They have dash cams, really crappy ones and they have a mic attached to them using a wireless connection of some sort. As they talk to the civilian you can hear what is said, now a lot of these dirty troopers wear jackets to fix that pesky problem. But that is just an example of where you’d want to request dash cam. For police agencies it sucks. Sometimes I get lucky and sometimes I don’t!
So what can you do if you think they are lying? Not much other than file a complaint with the Attorney general’s office https://law.georgia.gov/key-issues/open-government/open-government-complaint, if you sue you better make damn sure they actually do or don’t have those records but just know, no agency will investigate to see if they actually do, the burden of proof is on you as the judge will want that first and foremost!
Now that we have gone over some housecleaning notes we can get to the request part.
First, you need a target, a name, a badge number or even a simple picture. Badge number is best as unlike last names it has no duplicates, often an agency may have 3 people with the last name, Smith for example. My friend Kyle Joslin taught me that trick, watch how a master handles himself during and intense situation..
Below is how I have learned to fact check them. It took me years to develop this strategy and has never been seen anywhere online until now. I want you to know how to be a Kung Fu Open Records Champion too!! It may save your ass one day!!
Now that we have our cops name we can now start making requests to learn more and find clues to additional requests. The typical request I make is for their Arrest history, all of the citizens they arrested while employed with the agency. So you would want to state that part “I am requesting all arrests effected by officer goofoff for the duration of his employment. To include date, case number and offense. This is key for later requests. Below is an example of such a record. I usually go after the Disorderly conduct and Obstruction charges as they are typically civil rights violations. It is how cops fight against the 1st amendment, freedom of speech, expression, religion, assembly and press.
That’s not really a lot of arrests so it could indicate there is not much citizen arrest targeting is going on with this particular cop. This cop is known to violate federal laws though, see what I mean in the video below as featured on Lackluster. No you are not seeing these documents at random, I want to guide you through the mental status of the process so you can really get the most out of this.
Here is an example of a cop who has an insane number of arrests, I am sure if I obtain an updated one it will be over 1000. Leslie Gaiter with the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office in Georgia.
Other records I request are disciplinary IA file, all public complaints for duration of employment, you will find a LOT of clues in those documents. You can do requests for body cam off of those docs also, I have done this a lot, especially public complaints. You know how many people actually file police complaints? Very very few, they are intimidated not to do so and most are too scared to! Just facts. The police make it a scary and terrifying ordeal if you try and they will shoot you down quick.
Another record I request is a Garrity Warning, it is for administrative investigations only. Just a heads up, no state agency will acknowledge or except civil rights violations complaints, it will always be unfounded or unsustained because civil rights violations are federal crimes. The DOJ’s civil right division handles that, and I suppose the FBI too. https://civilrights.justice.gov/report/ I say they handle it, but the reality is both agencies are a joke! You really are on your own!
So when I say Garrity I mean if the cop broke a policy , involvement with inmates, car wreck, didn’t go to court, didn’t activate their body cam and things like that, policy violations, not crimes. For normal non civil rights crimes it’s a Miranda Warning. I request both. Garrity has the best chance of learning about other cops too! So that is a standard request for me. The Garrity Warning is free and is one single page with the Garrity Warning, date and signatures, one is the cop. As seen below
Now if the agency uses AXON body cams you’d want to request the AXON body cam audit trail report, I usually send them this link with the request so they can’t play dumb. https://my.axon.com/s/article/Device-Audit-Trail-Information?language=en_US
Here is an example of a couple AXON Audit Trail Reports
So with this report I just want to see how many video files exist, or if it does not show how many like in the AXON 4 report, it just shows duplicate entries, so that’s a good idea how many segments there are. With the one from Florida you see that is an earlier version of an AXON report. I just simply request the case numbers for the one officer.
Now that brings me to fee’s. I once did a request once for all body cam for all incidents, usually about 5 to 10 incidents on one cop. The problem with that is there could be multiple cops at the scene for me it was 12 so the fee was insane but I paid it. $407
So then I learned to request JUST the cop in question. Now that goes to something else, we would have to wait to get the body cam to see the other cops that were involved, and even then we don’t know who they are as name badges are rarely legible in the video.
So for years I was blindly requesting body cam and paying outrageous fee’s. Then I discovered a new trick, the CAD sheet from e-911 services, this will reveal everything, radio communication, just printed, you request audio radio com separately. We just want the CAD sheet because it also lists the duration of the incident, so you can measure costs better, for easy math let’s say a segment is 1 hour and the open records custodian makes 26 per hour, typical btw, with postage and media to put the records on you are looking at roughly $26 to $50. Redactions take the longest and they have to watch the entire video to do the redactions then the time of the redactions. It also lists the officers and which order they arrived, very effective for getting multiple views like I did in this video. If I only requested the first cop (Hambrick) I would have missed the entire incident.
That was another instance I did not specify one single cop. But since there was very little running time the request only cost $44.
Here is an example of a CAD sheet, now we are flowing properly 🙂 If anything crazy happens like a taser being used you will see it in the radio communication transcript.
The cop we are doing requests on is Megan Inman. her name is at the bottom. Seems like a shoplifting case at wally world.
Now this record is held by E-911 services, which the 911 call center and the agency are often in different locations and act independently from one another. So there is almost always a different request format, usually an online portal. This is where you get Radio com, CAD sheet and 911 calls from.
Now we want to request the incident report, this is done through the actual law enforcement agency
What we want to know now is whether or not the case is closed so they can’t use that exemption. So lucky for me Augusta Georgia has an online court docket https://www.augustaga.gov/421/Case-Management-Search
So we need to see if Hooks, Dreanna still has a pending case.
As we can see she does so getting the body cam will be difficult. But I will request it anyways in case the court docket is behind. Now at least we know they can use the exemption. That brings me back around to finding proof they have it. Often times they will leave clues in the disciplinary records mention above. Sometimes they indicate there is body cam and they watched it. In order to be successful at a complaint they can’t copsplain away we need proof.
I have been asked many times if someone should sue for these violations, first open records violations are state law violations, then we have the civil rights violation as shown in the Supreme Court case Near v. Minnesota.
“The First Amendment protects citizen’s freedom of speech from the federal government’s censorship. The Supreme Court used the Fourteenth Amendment (doctrine of incorporation) to apply the First Amendment to state governments. The Supreme Court reasoned that the relevant statute allowing prior restraint could lead to a system of complete censorship under the guise of preventing public nuisance.”
But to get to the civil suit we must navigate through a state remedy and that is where we have to prove they actually have the record. Also taking into account the states records management laws which trump state retention laws.
LG-19-092 | Internal Investigations
Description: Records used to investigate complaints against public safety officers. Retention: Founded: 20 years after settlement of case; Unfounded: 1 year after investigation completed. Updated: April 27, 2023
This brings us back to Garrity, if we can prove the cop was investigated and the allegation was sustained or founded that means the records have to be maintained for 20 years! So now we just need to request the Internal Affairs case files to validate the case was founded. If so then we know the records must exist because by state law they have to be maintained. But we have to navigate our way through these circles because that is the way they made it so most people won’t bother.
I covered a court case that deals with Open records lawsuits, Merchant Law Firm v. The Fulton County District attorney’s office , I made a few videos and the judge live streamed it. I highly recommend watching the full case. It is extremely valuable information. The Merchants won!!
This was the 3nd open records lawsuit in Ga, the other 2 were handled by the Georgia Supreme Court and are very interesting
Milliron v. Antonakakis
GONZALEZ v. THE STATE
https://www.gasupreme.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/s24a0913.pdf
So as you can imagine it takes a LOT to bring an open records lawsuit, I am not saying I won’t bring one but I want to be 100% concrete if I do!
Proving they have records is simply a matter of logic, for every measure there is a countermeasure. I just spend a lot of time trying to figure out what the countermeasure is and it is often their biggest weakness, their own reports.
They often lie in the narrative section of the incident report as shown above as that is what the news people get. So yeah, it’s twisted, words are missing, words are added, each word has 10 different meanings and so on. I have not found one yet that matches the body cam I get that is related to the incident report, it is really a liar report! Which is why I get the extra reports, to see the radio com and what was said, to get the body cam and see what was actually done. To read every word of every report looking for subtle clues.
Now there are tons of records you can get, one trick I used recently was I requested the last 10 requests made not including myself. I learned of new records then, because I also got the records and since they were already requested the redactions were paid for by the first guy 🙂 I got them all free.
Here is a sample list of records I know exists, just keep in mind, each agency is different and often references the reports as something else.
All personnel New hires and Resignations
List of all officers terminated
Polyhraph exams
Evidence.com audit trail
AIC – ADMINISTRATIVE AND INVESTIGATIVE NOTICE
Radio com
911 calls
ADULT Arrest report, all arrest made by officer in a time frame
AXON Body cam audit trail, very large file, I request one month at a time
Body cam / dash cam
Garrity form
Exit interview
Gas card
Separation list
ID and Probate card
Incident report
1st page of all use of force reports , 30 day, 6 months etc..
Police report
Employee Administrative Investigation History (EAIH)
Departmental police manual
Response to resistance
Calls for service, typically goes through a separate agency like e-911 services, radio com also
Vehicle activity report GPS
Employee listing name, salary and rank – Can be used to identify cops or verify agency
E-911 audio recordings
E-911 CAD – Computer Aided Dispatch reports
Now, here is a case with a 911 call, spend some time looking at those records, they have all of the clues you need to submit a successful request.
Now, you can use just an address for E-911 services, handy trick too, I sometimes request all service calls to a specified address to get any potential incidents and then request the body cam. Say you want to know if the cops have ever been called to the mayors house ‘) just use his publicly available address to see and then get body cam.
Now that was a kung fu move right? Ha.. I get the cops address and check to see if they have ever beat their wife 🙂 So it’s like reversing the process, trace it back last thing first. Incident and CAD reports, first! Now the fee’s are typically pretty good. I paid $59 for all available CAD sheets and 911 calls for the request below. But keep in mind, that request only came with 2 911 calls so it could have been more. Now I will double back and request the body cam of maybe 2 cops for each incident that may indicate concerns. Once I check the court docket and show them disposed then the body cam should be available. Got to be quick because 380 days after the case was disposed the file can be deleted per the Georgia Records Retention https://www.georgiaarchives.org/records/retention_schedules
At this point I can expect a couple things, one, the cop didn’t activate their body cam or the file is corrupt and can’t be downloaded. Both are super suspicious!! But there is no way to prove them wrong unless someone inside can verify on the low. If a judge rules against me then I have to pay their legal fee’s, even more taxes and court costs. So it is risky doing it. I have proof right now on many agencies but I still have doubt I could be wrong as I have many times before. So, unless I can get them lying on the phone then it’s a no go, listen to this call and you will understand more of what I am trying to say.
I got her caught up in a lie and she could not get out of it so they complied. That leads to my next part, which is leverage, we need leverage so they can’t sandbag and lie. Sandbag means they are holding files back because they think I don’t know. Once I start calling them and emailing the chief and sheriff’s they start acting right. Often a complaint to the AG helps too.
It takes diligence to get the content I get, some is easy but the details are what take the most amount of time for me to get because I want to know everything about a cop I can possibly find out. It is critical to bring the actual truth to the masses!! It is my main mission, to shame them into oblivion! I want their families to stop inviting them to holiday dinner, I want the gifts and love to stop. Some of these videos pop up as the first link when you look the cops names up on Google 🙂 I make webpages about them all.
Leverage is the incident report, the AXON body cam report, and so on the leverage is there.
Another critical document I get is the cops State certification, as seen below
That report shows all of the agencies the cop worked for. So to obtain leverage I request from all of them and use them against each other 🙂
Now, what if you got serious money to spend? oh boy, you can get a LOT of juicy info, like the Cellebrite report. I have a few. I spent 4 hours redacted this down from 487 pages of everything you have done and everywhere you have been from a clone of your phone. They use Cellebrite
Of course you’d have to know that file even exists, it is typically obtained either by the agency or the GBI. This file exists in most GBI cases. How to find cases? Here https://gbi.georgia.gov/press-releases
The GBI has extensive files but most are audio. The file you want is the investigative summary, then go through it, learn the case on on the right side of each page look for a link and a description of what was part of that section, could be a video, mp3 or just PDF files. Then you can request each file as needed or the entire case. I have done that and sometimes I get lucky and only pay $10 because someone else has already requested the case files and paid the full fee, usually a news station. Most journalist don’t know that trick. Without that summary report you would not know what is there vs. what you actually need. It is also important to note once the GBI takes a case the actual agency does not maintain any investigative files in the case. When I make requests like that they refer me to the GBI, then I make requests here https://gbi.georgia.gov/contacts/gbi-open-records-unit-oru
The GBI is extremely slow. Very important to note. But even the GBI investigation can turn up more bad cops. You can still do requests on their personnel files and disciplinary record. I didn’t really go into the personnel file because it’s usually a waste of money and time and it is often the most expensive record to request. I mean if you want to know where the cop worked before and all you could see his application in the personnel file. I can care less about that unless I am really trying to find some dirt!
This entire passage is a typical video for me. I love doing open records requests. I spent $7000 last year on them and claimed it on my taxes 🙂
But I do, I love finding these corrupt little sheriff’s offices and police departments. I also should mention that most police department records are handled by city hall and not the police department. That call above was just that. I was dealing with city hall clerks who are not usually state certified. The ones that are I make sure to mention I know they are certified 🙂 they are the ones that will comply the fastest. A sheriff’s office usually has their own internal Open records custodians, typically Internal affairs.
And if you followed that Merchant law Firm lawsuit you’d know that once I serve the individual with the request, via email, they are now officially responsible for filling that request or face litigation in their individual capacity meaning their assets are at risk! They don’t have qualified immunity but even that would not protect an individual from being at risk as open records violations are crimes. That is even more leverage! So I try to find their individual email and often call to get it. So I can prove that person is who the request went to. And the phone call verifies it. In Georgia it only requires consent of one person that is a part of the conversation, a one party state so as long as I am on the call talking, it’s good. Florida is a two party state meaning you simply can’t do. It’s best to document your interactions with government officials as they will lie!!
Leverage is key, here is a recent example I thought you’d like to see. I got the partial case files from POST and used the info in the interviews to make requests directly to the agency.
In Georgia, the specific law governing this issue is the Georgia Open Records Act (O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70). This law states that all public records should be open for inspection by any member of the public, with limited exceptions. Importantly, this includes communications related to official government business, regardless of whether they were made on a personal or government-owned device.
Key Points in Georgia Law:
- Definition of Public Records: Under the Georgia Open Records Act, public records are defined broadly to include “documents, papers, letters, maps, books, tapes, photographs, computer-based or generated information, data, data fields, or similar material” related to public functions. This definition encompasses communications made via text messages, emails, or other forms of electronic communication.
- Use of Personal Devices: The law clarifies that the medium or device on which the information is created or stored does not matter. If a government employee communicates about public business on their personal device (e.g., a personal cell phone, email account), those records are still subject to open records requests if they are related to their official duties.
- Case Law: In Georgia, there have been rulings and guidance that emphasize this point. For example, the Georgia Court of Appeals has ruled that even personal communications that relate to official business are public records if they are created, received, or maintained by a public officer or employee in the performance of their duties.
Thus, in Georgia, communications on personal devices used for government work are considered public records and can be requested under the Georgia Open Records Act (O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70).
This law ensures transparency and public access to government-related communications, even when conducted on personal devices.
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