John C. Manoog III, Esq. v. Sandwich, Town of - Police Department (SPR 20160974)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supervisor ofR ecords November 10,2016 SPR16/974 Michael Nurse Deputy Chief of Police Sandwich Police Department 117 Route 6A Sandwich, MA 02563 Dear Deputy ChiefNurse: I have received the petition of John Manoog, Esq., appealing the response of Town of Sandwich 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, Attorney Manoog requested a copy of certain incident report. A redacted report was provided and Attorney Manoog appealed. This request was the subject of a previous appeal. See SPR16/756 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (September 20, 2016). With respect to SPR16/756, the Department provided a subsequent response, dated September 16, 2016, and Attorney Manoog again appealed. Please note that the personal status of Attorney Manoog's client in the matter in question does not afford any greater right of access to the requested information than other persons in the general public. The Public Records Law does not distinguish between requesters. Access to a record requested pursuant to the Public Records Law rests on the content of the record and not the circumstances of the requester. See Bougas v. Chief of Police of Lexington, 371 Mass. 59, 64 (1976). Present appeal In its September 26 letter, the Department clarified its position for withholding the responsive records pursuant to G. L. c. 41 §97D as it operates by way ofExemption (a), the statutory'exemption to the Public Records Law. Exemption (a), known as the statutory exemption, permits the withholding of records that are: specifically or by necessary implication exempted from disclosure by statute One Ashburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 • (617) 727-2832• Fax: (617) 727-5914 sec.state.ma.us/pre • pre@sec.state.ma.us

Deputy Chief Michael Nurse SPR16/974 Page 2 November 10, 2016 G. L. c. 4, §7 (26) A governmental entity may use the statutory exemption as a basis for withholding requested materials where the language of the exempting statute relied upon expressly or necessarily implies that the public's right to inspect records under the Public Records Law is restricted. See Attorney General v. Collector of Lynn, 377 Mass. 151,54 (1979); Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. v. Appeals Court, 372 Mass. 539, 545-46 (1977). This office cannot order disclosure of records if a statute mandates nondisclosure. General Chemical Corp. v. Department of Environmental Quality Engineering, 19 Mass. App. Ct. 287 (Mass. App. Ct. 1985). The applicable statute that permits the Department to withhold certain records pursuant to Exemption (a) is the Confidentiality of reports of rape and related offenses; violations; penalties statute which provides in pertinent part: all reports of abuse perpetrated by family or household members, as defined in section 1 of chapter 209A, and all communications between police officers and victims of such offenses or abuse shall not be public reports and shall be maintained by the police departments in a manner that shall assure their confidentiality; G. L. c. 41 §97D In its letter the Department explained that the responsive report is related to a domestic violence case. Whereas the responsive record consists of information related to the type of information specifically exempted by statute, I find that the Department acted properly in withholding the requested records from disclosure pursuant to Exemption (a) of the Public Records Law. If Attorney Manoog is not satisfied with the resolution of this administrative appeal, please be advised that this office shares jurisdiction with the Superior Court of the Commonwealth. See G. L. c. 66, § 1O (b) (pursuing administrative appeal does not limit availability of applicable judicial remedies). cc: John Manoog, Esq.