Ishoo, MD, Edwin v. Marshfield, Town of - Police Department (SPR 20140447)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supervisor ofR ecords September 10, 2014 SPR14/447 Chief Phillip A. Tavares Marshfield Police Department 1639 Ocean Street Marshfield, MA 02050 Dear Chief Tavares: This office has received the petition of Dr. Edwin Ishoo appealing the response of the Marshfield Police Department (Department) to his request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(b); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(6). Specifically, Dr. Ishoo requested copies of records, including those related to internal affairs investigations, regarding eight specifically identified Department officers. In response to Dr. !shoo's request, you denied access to certain responsive records pursuant to Exemptions (b), (c), (e), (f) and (g) ofthe Public Records Law. You also provided a fee estimate for the cost to search for other records responsive to this request. In your response letter, you merely cited the statutory language of these exemptions and provided no further explanation as to their applicability to the requested records. The Public Records Law states that "the burden shall be upon the custodian to prove with specificity the exemption which applies." G. L. c. 66, § 10(c) (emphasis added). See Globe Newspaper Co. v. Police Comm'r, 419 Mass. 852, 857 (1995); see also District Attorney for the Norfolk Dist. v. Flatley, 419 Mass. 507, 511 (1995). As a result, it is my finding that the Department has failed to satisfy its burden in responding to this records request. The Department has provided no specificity with respect to the claimed exemptions and is not permitted to issue a blanket denial without providing any further information with respect to the requested records. With respect to the Department's fee estimate, it is permitted to issue a detailed fee estimate for the cost to be incurred in providing records responsive to a public records request. See 950 C.M.R. 32.06(2). However, the Department failed to satisfy its burden in not providing any meaningful detail to support its calculation of the fee estimate. The OneAshburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 · (617) 727-2832 ·Fax (617) 727-5914 www.sec.state.ma. us/ pre

Chief Phillip A. Tavares SPR14/447 Page Two September 10, 2014 Department calculated its cost to search for and segregate responsive records with an hourly rate of$45.85/hour. However, the Department provided no further information to support the use of such an hourly rate. Furthermore, the Department failed to justify its estimate that it will require 12 hours to search for records responsive to two parts of Dr. !shoo's request. Whereas the Department failed to satisfy its burden when it responded to Dr. !shoo's request, it is hereby ordered to provide Dr. Ishoo with copies of all responsive records within ten (1 0) calendar days, or alternatively to provide this office with a more detailed explanation and fee estimate that will satisfy its burden in responding to this request. Accordingly, this administrative appeal is now closed. Supervisor of Records cc: Dr. Edwin Ishoo, MD