Howey, S. v. Brookline, Town of - Police Department (SPR 20150740)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams November 4, 2015 Supervisor ofR ecords SPRlS/740 Deputy Superintendent Myles Murphy Town of Brookline Police Department Public Safety Building 350 Main Street Brookline, MA 02445 CustodianAddress Dear Superintendent Murphy: I have received the petition of S. Howey appealing the response of Town of Brookline Police Department (Department) to his request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 1O (b ); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Specifically, S. Howey requested copies of records regarding a particular address in the Town of Brookline. In a response dated September 4, 2015 the Department provided S. Howey with a fee estimate for the provision of police reports responsive to his request. The basis of S. Howey's appeal is that as of the date of the petition the Department had not responded to the portion of the request regarding audio files. Under the Public Records Law and the Access Regulations (Regulations) all requests for public records must be met with a response within ten (10) days ofthe request. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b); 950 C.M.R. 32.05. The response may be an offer to provide records, a fee estimate for provision of the records, or a denial. The initial response by the Department failed to address S. Howey's request for audio files. The Department is advised that all records custodians must comply with both the Public Records Law and the Regulations with respect to the timeliness of response. Accordingly, the Department is hereby ordered to provide a response to S. Howey regarding the portion of his request related to audio files within ten (1 0) days in a .manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Access Regulations. If there are any fees associated with this response a written, good faith estimate must be provided. G. L. c. 66, § 10(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 ($1 0.00), custodian of records shall provide written good faith esti ate). cc: S. Howey OneAshburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 · (617) 727-2832 ·Fax (617) 727-5914 www.sec.state.ma. us/pre