Double Sided Media responds to EPD, Commissioner Radey
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from James Croxton, Double Sided Media
In response to Commissioner Radey:
We are disappointed in Commissioner Jack Radey’s understanding of the free press.
The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution allows anyone to be a journalist. There’s, of course, the formal journalists with journalism degrees from higher education that get hired by the outlets Radey considers true journalism, such as The New York Times, but there’s also a long history of independent journalism that coincides.
We are that “other side.”
Double Sided Media was founded in 2020 by former student journalists at The Torch, located at Lane Community College, and our current editor-in-chief was a student at the University of Oregon’s School of Journalism and Communication and a reporter for the Daily Emerald. Anyone that has read our website’s ‘About Us’ page could see that.
To call into question our role as journalists and the apparent need for some kind of credentialing from a “higher power” is an interesting choice considering the EPD’s own unethical, and failed, attempt to masquerade its public information department as “press” — which we reported on in August 2025.
We are also disappointed in Radey’s assertion that the requests are a “fishing expedition.” This suggests that EPD’s attempt to deflect attention from alleged police misconduct to the records request itself is effective—at least to the commission. A search of nearly any article or social media post about the matter will show that an overwhelming majority of comments are not in the department’s favor.
The request wasn’t a mere attempt to try to “find something,” rather a direct effort to determine how often allegations are made regarding Officer Justin Peckels’ conduct and the misconduct that resulted in Captain Eric Klinko’s ultimate separation. But the EPD’s efforts to keep those records from being released certainly suggests they prefer to keep that alleged behavior and misconduct hidden.
In response to Michael Rea:
We are truly perplexed at the statements by the EPD and, now, commissioners, about the records requests being “vague.”
The records requests were not vague. Conversely, they were very specific. Let’s look at the request submitted for Officer Justin Peckels, the one that EPD wants $2.5 million for.
It read, in full (with emphasis added to highlight the specificity):
1. Sustained Internal Affairs & Investigative Files
All completed internal affairs complaints, intake logs, investigative summaries, witness interviews, audio/video evidence logs, and disciplinary notices issued to or involving Justin Peckels where findings of misconduct were ‘sustained,’ covering the period from June 18, 2018, through July 30, 2026. This includes all independent summaries, case reviews, and closed investigation audits maintained by the Eugene Independent Police Auditor.
2. EPD Executive Communications Dragnet
All internal and external communications, correspondence, and logs sent, received, or maintained by EPD’s executive staff—specifically including Police Chief Chris Skinner and Deputy Chief — dated between June 18, 2018, and July 30, 2026, regarding any misconduct investigations, internal status, negotiations, discipline, stipulation, or certification of Justin Peckels.
A. Scope of Media and Devices
This request explicitly applies to communications on all devices used to conduct city business, whether those devices are city-issued or personally owned. The search must include, but is not limited to:
- Official city email accounts and private/personal email accounts used for public business.
- Mobile SMS/MMS text messages, call logs, and voicemail records.
- Ephemeral or encrypted messaging applications (including but not limited to Signal, WhatsApp, Slack, and iMessage) utilized to discuss departmental affairs.
B. Keyword and Search Term Parameters
To ensure compliance and account for potential misspellings, typographical errors, or shorthand, the search must cover the following terms, wildcards, and root words:
- Justin Peckels, Peckels, Peckel, Pickels, J. Peckels
- Case # IA25-326
- Internal Affairs, IA, Auditor
C. Subject-Matter Overlap
Please note that the subject matter of the communication dictates its responsiveness to this request, not the sole presence of a specific keyword. Any communication between the specified executive parties during the designated timeframe that concerns Justin Peckels’ misconduct or disciplinary tracking must be produced, regardless of the terminology used.
3. Mandate for Search Transparency
If it is determined that no records match a portion of this request, I request that the City provide the exact search queries, data fields, and lists of devices/accounts that were scanned by the IT department or public records staff to fulfill this request.
Public Interest Fee Waiver
Per ORS 192.324(5), I request a waiver or reduction of fees. Making these records available primarily benefits the general public by providing vital transparency into local police accountability, executive-level disciplinary negotiations, and the tracking of sustained officer misconduct.
If fees are projected to exceed $25, please contact me with an itemized estimate before processing. Please acknowledge receipt of this request within 5 business days as required by law.
If any part of this request is denied or redacted, please provide an itemized index specifying the legal, statutory exemption for each withheld document or communication.
Was the request long? Sure. Was the request thorough? Damn straight it was. Did it at any point instruct the department to search the records of every city employee past and present? Not even once.
The records department, for some unknown reason that still has not been revealed to us, decided to exponentially expand the scope of the search. It was that decision, made without DSM‘s input, which led to the inflated fee that we were invoiced.
Moreover, Chief Chris Skinner’s claim to the commission that the department made a “courtesy call” is false.
Only one call was made to establish an update on the search and that was on Sept. 22 from Mary Bell to Chris Stetson, the EPD records department’s supervisor, after the department blew through its own self-imposed additional eight-day window to respond to the request.
During that phone call, Stetson offered little information about the progress of the search. He said there were no updates he could give at the time, as they were waiting for Internal Affairs to review the requests. When pressed, he said the total number of potentially responsive documents in each case, but never asked if we wanted to narrow the scope. When Bell asked to receive any type of update in writing, Stetson refused and said he couldn’t do so until after IA reviewed it.
Six days later, on Sept. 28, the EPD sent both fee notices requesting the new total sum of $2.68 million to get the records we are seeking.
Not once did the department offer to collaborate to narrow the scope to reduce the potential fees or the number of documents.
If the claim that former executive teams are not saved as groups is true, we suggest the IT department spend a little time trying to find a way to do so to aid in future records transparency.
With all that being said, we will be contacting the records department in the near future to find ways to narrow the scope, since their trained investigators and IT department do not know how to do so on their own within the scope of the original request.
Likewise, we will be submitting another records request to the EPD for phone logs between the date of the submission of the requests to current. If the EPD contacted DSM at any point, their records should reflect that.
About Double Sided Media
On May 29, 2020, Eugene, Oregon was ignited with anger following the murder of George Floyd by Officer Derek Chauvin and three others with the Minneapolis Police Department. Following the fiery, anger-fueled protest that night, peaceful protests and marches continued daily.
Double Sided Media was born in the wake of that uprising because we were unhappy with how the local media were covering the protests. We sought to create something new and honest for the community.
Our goal is to change the perception of “alternative news” from the bottom-up. We are all unpaid volunteers with a passion, and love, for our community. We will never hide our articles behind a paywall as news is just that: news — and the public deserves fair and free access to it.
Images courtesy Double Sided Media and Tim Lewis YouTube video, Aug. 15, 2025: The EPD’s Public Information Program Coordinator Michael Rea identified himself as with the “public information department” despite wearing “PRESS” markers on Aug. 12, 2025.
