Murphy, Christopher v. Swansea, Town of - Police Department (SPR 20140640)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supervisor ofR ecords December 15, 2014 SPR14/640 Mr. Arthur D. Frank, Jr., Esq. 209 Bedford Street, Suite 402 Fall River, MA 02720 Dear Attorney Frank: I have received the petition of Christopher F. Murphy appealing the response of the Swansea Police Department (Department) to his request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 10(b); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Specifically, Mr. Murphy requested a copy of an incident report and a DVD held by the Department regarding an incident on March 24, 2014 involving four specifically named individuals. As Legal Counsel to the Department, you denied the request, claiming that the responsive records may be withheld pursuant to Exemption (f) of the Public Records Law. The Public Records Law strongly favors disclosure by creating a presumption that all governmental records are public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c); 950 C.M.R. 32.08(4). "Public records" is broadly defined to include all documentary materials or data, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received by any officer or employee of any town of the Commonwealth, unless falling within a statutory exemption. G. L. c. 4, § 7(26). It is the burden of the records custodian to demonstrate the application of an exemption in order to withhold a requested record. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c); see also District Attorney for the Norfolk Dist. v. Flatley, 419 Mass. 507, 511 (1995) (custodian has the burden of establishing the applicability of an exemption). A review of your October 14, 2014 response fails to specifically detail how Exemption (f) allows the Department to withhold the responsive incident report and DVD. I find that the Department has not met its burden of proving that the records cannot be disclosed. OneAshburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108. (617) 727-2832. Fax (617) 727-5914 www.sec.state.ma. us/ pre

Mr. Arthur D. Frank, Jr., Esq. SPR14/640 Page Two December 15, 2014 Accordingly, the Department is hereby ordered, within ten (10) days of this order, to provide Mr. Murphy with the requested records. If the Department maintains that any portion of the responsive records are exempt from disclosure it must provide to Mr. Murphy a written explanation, with specificity, how Exemption (f) applies to wit old each record. This administrative appeal is now closed. cc: Mr. Christopher F. Murphy