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Planet Princeton sues town over OPRA denial

Local community news site Planet Princeton filed a lawsuit in Mercer County Superior Court last Tuesday, seeking the records of the policing agreement between the town of Princeton and the University, after the municipality of Princeton denied prior requests for access to the agreement.

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University Media Relations Specialist Min Pullan noted that the University is unable to comment on active or pending cases.

The agreement sets the jurisdiction of the University’s Department of Public Safety, which is larger in size than the police force of Princeton township. The complaint notes that there are 97 DPS officers, in contrast to the 60 members of the Princeton Police Department. DPS’s sworn officers currently have the authority of commissioned police officers, with the full power of arrest and the right to carry a gun in specific circumstances, according to Krystal Knapp, the plaintiff in the case and the founding editor of Planet Princeton.

According to the article released by Planet Princeton, the policing agreement was approved in 2013, and it is currently unknown if there are additional amendments.

As the article notes, on Feb. 10, Planet Princeton filed the initial request that the town make the agreement public, citing the state’s Open Public Records Act. However, after consulting the University's legal team, on Feb. 12 the municipality of Princeton denied Planet Princeton’s request.

According to the article, in its denial, the town cited an exception under OPRA, which exempts from public access any security information that might create a risk to the safety of people or property.

In an emailed statement, Princeton Mayor Liz Lempert said the town’s denial of the OPRA request followed the “advice and direction issued to us in 2013 by the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office, which is the chief law enforcement agency for the county.”

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The Prosecutor's Office did not respond to request for comment.

A copy of the advice that the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office gave in 2013 was attached to the town's official denial in February.

“The release of detailed information regarding police response to service calls, including primary responsibility data and coverage maps, would create a risk to the safety of persons and property in the Princeton area,” the letter said. “The information that is requested could contain tactical response details that are not subject to public disclosure.”

According to the Planet Princeton article, Princeton Township also claimed that the agreement is not a government record under state law, an assertion which has become a key point of contention in this case. In the letter brief attached in the article, Planet Princeton contends that the agreement is a public record and that it should be known to the general public.

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“The information about who polices what is information in the public's interest. Citizens deserve the right to know what jurisdiction they are under, and who handles what crimes. Many similar agreements between other schools and towns can be found online, by the way,” Knapp said in an emailed statement.

Knapp pointed out that the boundaries of DPS’s jurisdiction are unclear to the general public. Specific points of contention include who polices Princeton’s eating clubs or the Princeton Dinky train station, which is owned by the University but used by the general public.

“It would seem to me that the town and University are trying to have it both ways in this case — on the one hand claiming they have the same authority as police departments, yet on the other hand claiming jurisdiction is protected from disclosure,” Knapp said.

However, the University will not become directly involved in the case, according to Walter Luers, the lawyer representing Planet Princeton. “We haven’t named the University as a defendant, so I don’t expect them to become involved.”

The defendant for this case is Linda McDermott, in her official capacity as Municipal Clerk and Custodian of Records for Princeton.

McDermott did not respond to request for comment.

Luers, who specializes in public records cases, has represented a journalist in a similar case regarding the city of New Brunswick and Rutgers University. In that case, the records were turned over to the general public before the case went to court in 2012.

Luers foresees three potential outcomes for this case. “We win, we lose or we get a partial win. A partial win would be if the judge orders the records be released but with redactions,” he said.

One judge per county court hears cases regarding OPRA. Judge Mary Jacobson will be the judge hearing this case.

Jacobson was unable to be reached for comment.

Due to an error in editing process, an earlier title of this article misstated that Planet Princeton sued University and the town. The lawsuit was filed against the town, not the University. The 'Prince' regrets the error.