Wallack, Todd v. Mashpee Town of - Police Department (SPR 20140678)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supervisor ofR ecords February 20, 2015 SPR14/678 Chief Rodney C. Collins Mashpee Police Department 19 Frank Hicks Drive Mashpee, MA 02649 Dear Chief Collins: I have received a petition from Todd Wallack of the Boston Globe appealing the response ofthe Mashpee 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. Wallack requested a copy of any press release, incident report and photographs of a November 30, 2013 incident involving a specifically named Town of Sandwich police officer. 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). In your response you stated that the Department would provide copies of the indicated accident report and photographs from the accident. You further stated that the arrest report related to the accident would be withheld pursuant to the investigatory exemption to the Public Records Law. G. L. c. 4, § 7(26)(£). Exemption (f) Exemption (f) permits investigatory officials to withhold: One Ashburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 · (617) 727-2832. Fax (617) 727-5914 www.sec.state.ma. us/pre

Chief Rodney C. Collins SPR14/678 Page Two February 20, 2015 investigatory materials necessarily compiled out of the public view by law enforcement or other investigatory officials the disclosure of which materials would probably so prejudice the possibility of effective law enforcement that such disclosure would not be in the public interest G. L. c. 4, §7 (26)(f) The Public Records Law states, "the burden shall be upon the custodian to prove with specificity the exemption which applies." G. L. c. 66, § 10(c) (emphasis added). See also 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). Your response did not contain the specificity required in a denial of access to public records. The Department is advised that to comply with the Public Records Law and Regulations it must provide specificity with respect to any denial of access to public records. This requires a records custodian to not only cite an exemption, but to specifically explain the applicability of the exemption to the requested records. Accordingly, whereas the Department has failed to meet this burden of specificity, it is hereby ordered, within ten (1 0) days of this order, to provide Mr. Wallack with the requested records. If the Department maintains that any portion of the responsive records are exempt from disclosure it must, within ten (10) days provide to Mr. Wallack a written explanation, with specificity, how a particular exemption applies to each record. This administrative appeal is now closed. cc: Mr. Todd Wallack