Mayor’s Office of Legal Counsel Denies FOIA Appeal

GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE MAYOR

Mayor’s Office of Legal Counsel

April 14, 2025

VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL ONLY: lorem@ipsum.com

Lorem Ipsum Dolor
Lorem Ipsum Dolor
Lorem Ipsum Dolor
RE: FOIA Appeal 0000-000

Dear Lorem Ipsum Dolor :

This letter responds to the administrative appeal that you have submitted to the Mayor under the District of Columbia Freedom of Information Act, D.C. Code §§ 2-531, et seq. (“DC FOIA”). In your appeal, you have challenged the response of the Homeland Security & Emergency Management Agency (“HSEMA”) to your DC FOIA request.

Background

On March 7, 2025, you submitted a DC FOIA request to HSEMA, identified as R008209-030725, which sought “CCTV Footage – Video recordings from the closed-circuit television (CCTV) system located at or near the intersection of New York Avenue and Florida Avenue NE, Washington, DC, adjacent to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Headquarters, on February 8, 2025, at 12:29:40 PM EST.” HSEMA responded to your request on March 18, 2025 by providing you with a web link where you could access the requested CCTV footage. HSEMA further advised you “the direction the camera is facing at the time of the recording is the only angle available” and it was unable to adjust the view or improve the quality of images.

On April 2, 2025, you filed an appeal with this Office asserting, in relevant part, the footage provided was recorded from an angle that does not show the location where the incident occurred, it is from a different time than specified in your request, and the timestamp does not match that of your personal audio and video recordings from the incident. On April 3, 2025, we notified HSEMA of your appeal and requested a response. HSEMA promptly responded and advised this Office that it provided you with CCTV footage from the camera located at New York and Florida Avenue taken on February 8, 2025 from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm. HSEMA also reiterated it was unable to control the angle of the subject camera and it provided a listing of the District Department of Transportation (“DDOT”) cameras that are accessible by HSEMA.

Discussion

It is the public policy of the District of Columbia government that “all persons are entitled to full and complete information regarding the affairs of government and the official acts of those who represent them as public officials and employees.” D.C. Code § 2-531. In aid of that policy, DC FOIA creates the right “to inspect ... and ... copy any public record of a public body . . .” D.C. Code § 2-532(a). The right to examine public records is subject to various exemptions that may form the basis of a denial of a request. D.C. Code § 2-534.

DC FOIA was modeled on the corresponding federal Freedom of Information Act. Barry v. Washington Post Co., 529 A.2d 319, 321 (D.C. 1987), and decisions construing the federal statute are instructive and may be examined to construe the local law. Washington Post Co. v. Minority Bus. Opportunity Comm'n, 560 A.2d 517, 521, n.5 (D.C. 1989).

Adequacy of the Search

In determining whether an agency conducted an adequate search in response to a records request, the test is not whether documents might conceivably exist, but whether the agency’s search for responsive documents was adequate. See Weisberg v. U.S. Dep’t of Justice, 705 F.2d 1344, 1351 (D.C. Cir. 1983). Speculation, unsupported by any factual evidence that records exist is not enough to support a finding that full disclosure has not been made. Marks v. U.S. Dep’t of Justice, 578 F.2d 261 (9th Cir. 1978). To conduct a reasonable and adequate search, an agency must: (1) make a reasonable determination as to the locations of records requested; and (2) search for the records in those locations. Doe v. D.C. Metro. Police Dep’t, 948 A.2d 1210, 1220-21 (D.C. 2008) (citing Oglesby v. United States Dep't of the Army, 920 F.2d 57, 68 (D.C. Cir. 1990)).

Here, HSEMA identified the CCTV camera at the intersection of Florida and New York Avenue as that which would have taken the requested footage, retrieved the corresponding footage for the applicable time period, and provided it to you. As advised, HSEMA is unable to alter the angle or perspective of the footage as the camera angle is fixed and determined by how the equipment was installed. This Office has reviewed the footage provided to you and it was taken on February 8, 2025 from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm, a time period which is in accord with your request. Because HSEMA located and released the footage that was both responsive to your request and in its control, and there is no evidence that it has failed to identify, search for and/or produce any footage, your appeal is denied.

A listing of DDOT CCTV cameras accessible by HSEMA may be found at https://hsema.dc.gov/open-government-foia-and-cctv-1 . If you believe the incident that is the subject of your request may have been captured by one of the other citywide CCTV cameras listed, you are free to submit an additional request and you are encouraged to do so.

Conclusion

Based on the foregoing, your appeal is denied. If you are dissatisfied with this decision, you may commence a civil action against the District of Columbia in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia in accordance with D.C. Code § 2-537.

Respectfully,

Mayor’s Office of Legal Counsel

cc: Joe Ruel, HSEMA FOIA Officer (via email only)