Pettis County Sheriff Kevin C. Bond personally responded to our Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request less than 12 hours after we sent it. His promptness is impressive as well as the fact that he responded personally. Usually sheriff's departments have a staff member that responds to such things. We have never gotten a response like this in less than 24 hours before and we have never gotten one from an actual sheriff before. That might just show we are on the right track when guessing at how small his department it. Unfortunately, it might also give merit to his claim that his deputies stopped wearing body cameras due to technical difficulties and lack of funding, but not much merit since such cameras are so easy to use a cop can do it. Our FOIA request read as follows: "I request a copy of your current staff roster and hiring dates for all employees under the Freedom of Information Act. I also request the staff schedule for all shifts for the date of June 13, 2020." The goal of this request was to acquire the names and hiring dates of all deputies, plus which ones were on duty the night one of them shot 25 year old Hannah Fizer. Sheriff Bond has yet to release the name of the deputy even though the Missouri Highway Patrol investigation into the incident found no gun in Hannah's car. Bond's deputy claimed that he fired in self defense because she had a gun, threatened to shoot him, and he thought she was trying to shoot him. There is no footage of the incident because Sheriff Bond says that his department stopped wearing body cameras three years ago due to technical difficulties and lack of funding. They also do not have dash board cameras in their cars. Sheriff Bond has stated publicly that the deputy that shot Hannah has been with the department since 2007. His response to our FOIA was as follows: Mr. Sullivan, Thank you for your inquiry. I am the custodian of records for the Pettis County Sheriffs Office. Under 610.100.3RSMO, portions of a record or document of a law enforcement officer or agency that contains information reasonably likely to pose a clear and present danger to the safety of a person shall be closed. As a result, I cannot comply with your request at this time. Please let me know if you have any questions. Kevin C. Bond, Sheriff Pettis County, Missouri sheriff[at]pettiscomo.com ---End of Message--- The problem with his response is that FOIA is a federal law that cannot be circumvented by citing a state law because the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution prohibits it. Article VI paragraph 2 of the Constitution reads as follows: "This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding." We will be submitting an objection to Sheriff Bond informing him of the Supremacy Clause. We will also include an officer to remove the results of our public records research into him personally if he does the right thing and tells us who shot Hannah Fizer. Public records contain the following information about Sheriff Bond: KEVIN CHARLES BOND SEX: MALE DOB: AUG-1965 AGE: 54 ADDRESS: 4130 APPLE RIDGE RD SEDALIA, MO 65301 2006 - Now Owner We are posting this information with the hope of encouraging peaceful demonstrators to picket his home like demonstrators have peacefully picketed homes of other government officials in recent weeks. We ask that no one do anything that would damage property or endanger anyone's safety when protesting. UPDATE: We have sent the following response appealing to Sheriff Bond to do the right thing: Sheriff Bond, Nothing in the Missouri statutes gives you the right to refuse a records request filed under the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). If you comply with the request or release the name of the deputy that shot Hannah Fizer, I will remove you home address from the following URL https://ift.tt/2CaxgRQ. I suggest you comply promptly before too many search engines and other people find this content. The Supremacy Clause of the constitution clearly prohibits states from enacting laws that overrule federal laws, so you cant legally rely on any Missouri statute to justify non-compliance with federal law. I am willing to drop my FOIA request if you just tell the public who shot Hannah Fizer? They have a right to know and actions such as yours only embolden bad cops to do bad things knowing that you probably have their backs. Im sure it hurts your little department to lose just a single deputy to a misconduct suspension, firing, or prosecution, but anyone that shoots any unarmed person they think has a gun without any verification is not qualified to work in law enforcement. Do right by the public and I will do right by you. You have my word. Sincerely, Cyrus Sullivan President CopBlaster.com P.O. Box 86653 Portland, Oregon 97286 (503) 908-9256#kevinbond #foia #hannahfizer #murder
source https://copblaster.com/blast/25797/pettis-county-sheriff-kevin-c-bond-refuses-to-comply-with-foia
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