You are on page 1of 5

Fightingfor yourrights.

Mr.ChristopherBaker TheHawaiiDefenseFoundation P.O.Box1798 Aiea,Hawaii96701 8086641827 8775096806(Fax) Chris@hawaiidefensefoundation.org

Honolulu Police Department Louis M. Kealoha, Chief of Police 801 South Beretania Street Honolulu, Hawaii 96813 July 6th, 2011 VIA U.S. MAIL, RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED RE: RECORDS REQUEST REF: 04072011-HPD-FOIA1 Dear Chief of Police Kealoha: I. WRITTEN PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST

This letter constitutes a formal written request in accordance with Hawaii Administrative Rules (HAR) 2-71-12 Formal Requests for Access to Government Records. When responding to this written inquiry, please utilize the reference number (04072011HPD-FOIA1) to allow for proper accountability of correspondence. This request is directed towards the Honolulu Police Department, a government agency of State of Hawaii, as defined by Hawaii Revised Statute 92F-3, to also include, but not limited to its agents and employees, or separate branches of this department, whom also may possess knowledge or have access to the information requested herein. If any of the forthcoming government document requests are not held by the agencies identified above, we ask that you forward this letter accordingly to the agency or individual with possession of the requested information. This formal request seeks to gain access to the government records requested in proceeding paragraphs. These government

Honolulu Police Department July 6th, 2011 Page 2 of 5 records may be currently held by the agency in the following forms: written, auditory, visual, electronic, other physical form, or however else retained. II. INFORMATION REQUESTED PURSUANT TO HAR 2-71-12

1. The policies and procedures required by state law to be adopted under HRS 134-7.3(d). This section reads as follows: The Chief of Police of the respective counties shall adopt procedures to implement and administer the provisions of this section by December 31st, 2001. 2. The procedures adopted in accordance with HRS 134-9(b), which states that [t]he chief of police shall adopt procedures to require that any person granted a license to carry a concealed weapon on the person, that defines and describes: A. The written requirements established that the Chief of Police uses to determine that a person is qualified to use the firearm in a safe manner. HRS 134-9(B)(1). B. The written requirements established that the Chief of Police uses to determine whether or not the person applying [a]ppears to be a suitable person to be so licensed. HRS 134-9(B)(2). III. DISCLOSURE OF DOCUMENTS REQUIRED

All government records are open to the public unless access is restricted or closed by law1. The requested documents are not readily available to the public. Additionally, they are not burdened by any exceptions, as such, the requested documents and information are required to be disclosed under 92F-12 Disclosure Required: (1) Rules of procedure, substantive rules of general applicability, statements of general policy, and interpretations of general applicability adopted by agency, and (15) Information collected
1 HawaiiOpenRecordsLawHandbook:Page13,DisclosureProvisions

Honolulu Police Department July 6th, 2011 Page 3 of 5 and maintained for the purpose of making information available to the general public. IV. LOCATION AND METHOD OF DISCLOSURE

We ask that you provide the requested documents by way of mail, e-mail, or download, as well as provide access to the documents for inspection and review. For any of previously requested public documents, to which there is an available electronic format, we request that the same electronic format be made available to us at the requesters address in the document headers. Additionally, we do not feel this constitutes a burden to your agencys function, and conforms to the requirements of HAR 2-71-18. The applicable section states: HAR 2-71-18 Location of disclosure; alternatives-(C) When a requester requests that a copy of a record be transmitted by mail, telefax, or other means, the agency shall make a reasonable effort to transmit the copy of the record in the manner sought by the requester. V. RESPONSE TO FORMAL REQUEST

A response is expected within, at a maximum, ten business days from the receipt of this letter. HAR 2-71-13(A). Should there be any issues that arise, a written notice is still required within ten days (maximum) of the receipt of this request. If additional time is required, please notify us in writing. If circumstances prohibit a prompt response, please contact us so that we may agree on a reasonable deadline for production.

VI.

ASSESSMENT OF FEES; PRE-PAYMENT AND WAIVERS

We are willing to pay reasonable direct costs related to this request. This includes single copies of documents, media (CDs), and applicable fees dictated by legislation. Agencies are required to waive the first $30.00 USD of fees for requests. 1. PREPAYMENT The agency may only demand fifty-percent of the total estimated fees for searching for, reviewing, and segregating records, when the estimated fees exceed $30.00.

Honolulu Police Department July 6th, 2011 Page 4 of 5 If other services are required to prepare or transmit the requested documents or information 100% of those fees may be requested by your agency. 2. Waivers HAR 2-71-32 Agencies shall waive $60 of the fees that may be assed when: The requester finds that the waiver of fees would be in the public interest, the request for a waiver of fees is supported by a statement of facts, including the requesters identity.

VII. STATEMENT OF FACTS Hawaii Defense Foundation (HDF) is an incorporated as a domestic non-profit group in the State of Hawaii. The HDF has a vested interest in the disclosure of firearms documents to ensure the agencies compliance with state law. The information requested directly relates to the groups purpose of promoting, restoring, and educating the populace on the Second Amendment rights guaranteed by the United States and Hawaii Constitutions. These requested records and documents are not readily available to the public domain. We have found no references to these forms or applications online anywhere. Other agencies publish copious amounts of public documents (e.g., www.ehawaii.gov) and provide true and reasonable access to those documents. It is our absolute intention to disseminate this information to the public, not just across the islands, but nationally as well. Currently, The Hawaii Defense Foundation has numerous members, with many ties through social media, online forums and web presences. Our corporation reaches out to numerous unique visitors on a daily basis; we have ties to many forums based on firearms and related topics; we also maintain access to various mailing and distribution lists. Distributing information to the public at large is a common operation of the organization. We find that its critical to the operation of a government that its citizens are made aware of the policies and procedures that it is governed by. There is a significant public interest in ensuring that firearm carry permits are being managed in a constitutional manner; that persons are not being coerced or discouraged from applying for a permit to carry pursuant to HRS 134-9; that persons are not being unjustly denied their due

Honolulu Police Department July 6th, 2011 Page 5 of 5 process in attempting to apply, by being refused access to these forms and documents. VIII. Severability

The requested information may be viewed as severable. If you are unable to provide all of the requests, or a request raises large amounts of questions, we request that all other information be released in a timely fashion. If our request is denied in whole or in any part, we require that you justify all deletions and denials by specifying the exact reference to the legal exemptions of the act and provide proper legal citation.

Sincerely,

Christopher H. Baker

CC:

Honorable Peter Carlisle, Mayor Honorable Carrie K.S. Okinaga, Corporation Counsel

You might also like