Infami, Chris v. Brookline, Town of - Police Department (SPR 20150732)

The Commonwealth.ofMassachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supervisor ofR ecords December 28, 2015 SPRlS/732 Deputy Superintendent Myles Murphy Town of Brookline Police Department Public Safety Building 350 Main Street Brookline, MA 02445 Dear Superintendent Murphy: I have received the petition of C. Informi appealing the response of Town of Brookline 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, C. Informi requested copies of all documents and digital files pertaining to P/2015-00067026. In a response dated September 16, 2015 the Department informed C. Informi that it is withholding audio recordings responsive to this request citing to Exemption (c), the privacy exemption to the Public Records Law. G.L. c. 4 §7(26)(c). The Department provided no additional information to support its exemption claim. The basis of the appeal is the Department withholding of the audio files. 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, § 10(a); see also Reinstein v. Police Comm'r of Boston, 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); 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. To comply with the Public Records Law and its Regulations a records custodian 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 Superintendent Myles Murphy SPR15/732 Page Two December 28,2015 I find the Department has yet to meet its burden of specificity in denying access to public records. Accordingly, the Department is hereby ordered to provide a written response to C. Informi detailing the applicability of any cited exemption to the withheld records, prepared in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations. If the Department intends to withhold or redact any portion of the responsive records pursuant to a specifically stated exemption, C. Informi must be provided a written explanation, with specificity, how a particular exemption applies to each record. To meet the specificity requirement a custodian must not only cite an exemption, but must also state why the exemption applies to the withheld or redacted portion of the responsive record. 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. 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 ar paid you must provide the responsive records. yours, cc: C. Informi