Double Sided Media, a local news outlet in Eugene, Oregon, filed a public records request in August seeking documents about police officer Justin Peckels, focusing on potential misconduct between 2018 and 2026. According to The Intercept, Peckels has been the subject of community complaints, including for punching a resident in the face during a traffic stop.
In response, the Eugene Police Department’s public records division estimated that processing the request would require at least 44,816 hours of staff time and cost approximately $2,484,599.04. A separate request by the outlet for similar records concerning former officer Eric Klinko was estimated at $195,869.52, bringing the combined total to nearly $2.7 million.
The police department justified the multimillion-dollar cost by claiming it could not narrow the list of custodians whose records needed to be searched. According to the department’s logic, any city employee—including groundskeepers and park department staff—could potentially have records containing responsive information about police misconduct, requiring manual review of all records.
The Intercept notes that standard practice requires agencies to search the specific custodians most likely to possess responsive records, not conduct a citywide records dragnet. If acting in good faith, the city would have asked Double Sided Media to help identify the most probable record-holders.
The article highlights a contradiction in the police department’s approach to technology. While apparently unable to invest in efficient search software for public records, the Eugene Police Department recently signed a two-year $342,000 contract for nearly 60 AI-powered Flock automated license plate readers. These license plate readers were deployed so secretively that the ACLU of Oregon had to sue for records about their use.
According to The Intercept, Eugene’s approach is not unique. In 2015, the Department of Defense estimated that a FOIA request would cost $660 million and require 15 million hours. That same year, the Drug Enforcement Administration quoted $1.46 million for records about the DEA’s role in capturing cartel boss Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman. In 2019, the Army initially tried to charge $300,000 to release military base water test results but waived the fee after public backlash.
The article notes that federal FOIA requesters have some protections, with recent amendments preventing agencies from charging most fees if they miss response deadlines. At the local level, however, these protections are weak. While Oregon law grants agencies discretion to reduce fees when disclosure benefits the public, agencies routinely ignore this provision.
Double Sided Media is appealing the fee estimate. The Intercept argues that without legislative changes requiring fee caps, public-interest waivers for journalists, and efficient records-management software, police departments will continue using prohibitive costs as a tactic to suppress public oversight.
Key facts
- Eugene Police Department estimated $2.5 million to process a public records request about officer Justin Peckels
- The estimate claimed the request would require 44,816 hours of staff time
- Double Sided Media’s separate request for records on former officer Eric Klinko was estimated at $195,869.52
- The police department claimed it could not narrow custodians and must search all city employee records
- The Eugene Police Department recently contracted for $342,000 in AI-powered license plate reader cameras
- Similar prohibitive fee estimates have been issued by federal agencies including the DOD ($660 million), DEA ($1.46 million), and Army ($300,000)