Non-Routine or Complex Police FOIA Request

Non-routine or complex police FOIA requests are handled by the attorneys and legal assistants who are assigned to the Law Department FOIA Section.

• The following ARE non-routine Police FOIA requests:
  • Records pertaining to fatal accident;
  • Video or audio recordings (other than  routine 911 audio recordings and Police Dash-Cam Videos)
  • Records involving critical injury;
  • Records pertaining to homicide;
  • Records pertaining to matters involving shooting;
  • Records involving any type of death; or
  • Records pertaining to vice or narcotics.

1. When submitting a FOIA request concerning police matters, you must sufficiently describe a public record so as to enable DPD personnel to find it.
   • Therefore, your FOIA request must contain the following information:
     • A description of the incident
     • Names of individuals who were involved in the incident
     • Date of the incident
     • Description of the record are you looking for
     • Location of the incident.
   • If you know which DPD unit, division, precinct or officer has the request record, please identify them.
   • If you have the police report number, please identify the report number.
   • The more descriptive and specific your request is, the easier it would be for a DPD personnel to search and to retrieve the requested record(s).
2. Your request should include the word “FOIA” or “FOIA Request”.

For convenience, you may also email the completed form or your written request, which provides sufficient information for DPD personnel to locate the requested record, to: [email protected].

Note: If the FOIA request is for medical records, such as ambulance or an EMS run sheets, compliance with both federal HIPAA regulations and the Michigan Medical Records Access Act is required.