Thread by @weareoversight

How can FOIA be used to investigate police brutality and law enforcement responses to protests?

For this #FOIAFriday, we’re discussing FOIA strategy and our recent requests for records about the use of force against peaceful protesters.

First, some context. June 1 at roughly 6:30 PM, law enforcement officials fired tear gas containers into a crowd of peaceful protesters lawfully assembled at Lafayette Square, close to the White House.

The Trump administration initially claimed it cleared the park to enforce the curfew—which didn’t take effect until 7 PM. An unnamed Park Police member claimed they cleared the park because officers were hit by water bottles.

June 2, a DOJ official said Attorney General Bill Barr instructed law enforcement to clear the park to widen the perimeter around the White House, but reporting strongly suggests the goal was to make way for Pres Trump’s photo-op at St. John’s Church.
washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/…

The public deserves to know exactly what happened and why law enforcement forcibly removed protestors.

So let’s get into the details of how we wrote our request for the government records of the event.

First, we determined what agencies might have records of the order to clear the park. We knew law enforcement from the Secret Service, National Guard, and Park Police likely carried out the orders, so we FOIA’d the relevant agencies.

We also requested records from the Pentagon because Secretary Esper and General Milley took part in the president’s photo-op after police used force to clear Lafayette Park.

Next, we determined what type of records we’re after & we asked for 2 categories of records:

1. Records "reflecting any order or directive to use force...on protestors in Lafayette Park" on June 1.

2. Records that could ID the federal official(s) that ordered the use of force.

We also were as specific about what type of records we were after: memoranda, emails, text messages, phone records, and post-action reports. We specified that we didn’t just want docs with tactical directives, but also records from White House officials.

Then, we were specific about the incident we were seeking records about. We specified that we were interested in directives that ordered any use of force including “tear gas, concussion grenades, rubber bullets, and physical charges” on protestors in Lafayette Park on June 1.

With protests and sometimes violent responses from authorities playing out across the nation on a daily basis, there are dozens if not hundreds of incidents that warrant investigation. We've compiled a list of public records request strategies here:
americanoversight.org/tips-for-filin…

Read the full FOIA request discussed here: americanoversight.org/american-overs…