Sinni, Jr., Edward v. Acton, Town of - Police Department (SPR 20140699)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supervisor ofR ecords January 6, 2015 SPR14/699 Deputy Chief Richard C. Burrows Town of Acton Polic~ Department P.O. Box 2122 Acton MA, 01 720 Dear Deputy Chief Burrows: I have received the petition of Edward P. Sinni, Jr. appealing the response of the Town of Acton 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. Sinni requested a copy of a letter written to the Department concerning himself. In a response dated November 4, 2014 the Department provided a copy of an incident report but denied providing a copy of the letter. Your written response to Mr. Sinni did not clearly state whether the responsive records exist and are in the possession of the Department. 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). Public records, and any non-exempt, segregable portions thereof, are subject to mandatory disclosure upon request. G. L. c. 66, § lO(a); see also Reinstein v. Police Comm'r ofBoston, 378 Mass. 281, 289-90 (1979) (the statutory exemptions are not blanket in nature). 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 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). The response by the Department did not contain the specificity required in a denial of access to public records. Accordingly, the Department is advised that to comply with the Public Records Law and its 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. OneAshburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108. (617) 727-2832. Fax (617) 727-5914 www.sec.state.ma. us/ pre

Deputy Chief Richard C. Burrows SPR14/699 Page Two January 6, 2015 The Department has yet to meet its burden in proving with specificity why responsive records have not been made available. Accordingly, the Department is hereby ordered, within ten (10) days of this order, to provide Mr. Sinni with the requested records. If the Department maintains that the responsive records no longer exist, the Department is further ordered to explain in writing its justification under the Public Records La and the Municipal Records Retention Manual. Supervisor of Records cc: Mr. Edward P. Sinni, Jr.