Howard V. Neff, III v. Webster, Town of - Police Department (SPR 20160237)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supervisor ofR ecords April 20, 2016 SPR16/237 Ms. Nancy Consolie Webster Police Department 357 Main Street Webster, MA 01570 Dear Ms. Consolie: I have received the petition of Howard Neff appealing the nonresponse of the Webster Police Department (Department) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 10(b); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Specifically, Mr. Neff requested to inspect or obtain copies of records relating to the presence of Department officers at a specifically identified event. Despite our letter to you dated April 11, 2016 acknowledging the opening of this appeal and a communication from a member of my staff, no response has been provided. 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). I find the Department has failed to respond to a request for public records. Accordingly, the Department is hereby ordered, within ten (10) days ofthis order, to provide Mr. Neffwith a response to the request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations. If the Department maintains that any portion ofthe responsive records are exempt from disclosure it must, within ten (10) days provide to Mr. Neff 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 OneAshburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 · (617) 727-2832 ·Fax (617) 727-5914 www.sec.state.ma. us/pre

Ms. Nancy Consolie SPR16/237 Page 2 April20, 2016 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 are paid, you must provide the responsive records. To assist in requesting and responding to requests for public records please refer to our publication, A Guide to the Massachusetts Public Records Law. This document is available on the Internet, free of charge, at http://www.sec.state.ma.us/pre/prepdf/guide.pdf. Attorneys on my staff are available during regular business hours to answer g eral questions regarding the Public Records Law. In addition, members of my staff will visit a r cords custodian in person to conduct training workshops on the Public Records a up equest. Please contact my office directly at the telephone number provided in this det rmi a · n for further information. cc: Mr. Howard Neff