Martin, Jr., Richard v. Director, Office of Media Relations (SPR 20150447)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supervisor ofR ecords July 27, 2015 SPRlS/447 Lt. Michael McCarthy City of Boston Police Department Media Relations One Schroeder Plaza Boston, MA 02120 Dear Lieutenant McCarthy: I have received the petition of Richard Martin appealing the response of City of Boston 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. Martin requested copies of all incident reports in which his name is mentioned. Mr. Martin requested all fees be waived and the responsive records be provided via email. In an unsigned response dated May 26, 2015 the Department informed Mr. Martin that "[y]ou may come into Boston Police Headquarters, first floor, public service desk anytime from 8am to 4pm to retrieve police reports which contain your name." Please be advised that the Public records Law does not require records to be provided via email. However, upon request, a person at his or her election, shall be entitled to receive in hand or by mail one copy of a public record or any desired portion of a public record upon payment of a reasonable fee as determined by the Public Records Access Regulations. 950 CMR 32.05(6). A custodian may assess the actual cost of postage. 950 C.M.R. 32.06(3). However, I find the Department erred in not providing a response that stated whether records exist in electronic form. Accordingly, the Department is hereby ordered, within ten (10) days ofthis order, to provide Mr. Martin a written response indicating whether records exist in electronic form and could be provided electronically. A copy of any such response must be provided to this office. It is preferable to send an electronic copy of this response to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us. OneAshburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 · (617) 727-2832 ·Fax (617) 727-5914 www.sec.state.ma. us/ pre

Lt. Michael McCarthy SPR15/447 Page Two July 27, 2015 If there are any fees associated with this response a written, good faith estimate must be provided. G. L. c. 66, § 1O (a); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.06(2) (where cost of complying with a request for public records is expected to exceed ten dollars ($10.00), custodian of records shall provide written good faith estimate). Once the fees are paid, you must provide the responsive records. illiams Supervisor of Records cc: Mr. Richard B. Martin