Blaettler v. Township of Weehawken, et al
Sep 29, 2015OUTCOME: Successfully defended the Township of Weehawken
Successfully defended the Township of Weehawken in an action resulting for the Township’s denial of an OPRA request for building surveillance camera recordings, taken within the Weehawken police statio ... n, on the basis of the security exemption. The requestor asked for the videos from the cameras covering the “report area next to the police desk.” A Hudson County judge agreed with the Township’s position that the videos were confidential under OPRA’s exemptions for security and safety. He relied on certifications from members of the police department which demonstrated the safety and security risks entailed in disclosing this area of the police station, including exposing building security shortfalls and revealing sensitive information on a computer terminal. The judge also denied plaintiff’s common law claim for access to the videos, holding that the safety and security risks outweighed plaintiff’s disclosure interest.