John M. Thompson, Esq. v. Springfield, City of - City Solicitor (SPR 20161125)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supervisor ofR ecords December 20, 2016 SPR16/1125 Mr. Edward M. Pikula, Esq. City Solicitor City of Springfield - Law Department 36 Court Street, Room 210 Springfield, MA 01103 Dear Attorney Pikula: I have received the petition of John M. Thompson of Thompson & Thompson, P.C. appealing the response of the City of Springfield - City Solicitor (City) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 1O (b ); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Attorney Thompson requested records concerning a February 26, 2016 incident regarding a specifically-named police officer, such as the excessive force report, video recording(s) of the interrogation, internal investigations unit report, and any assessment of the legal soundness or a sanction that would involve terminating the detective's employment. The requested records were the subject of a prior appeal by Attorney Thompson and a determination by this office. See SPR16/1125 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (December 4, 2016). In my December 4 determination, I found that the City had met its burden of properly withholding all the responsive records pursuant to Exemption (f). After another review, I decline to reverse my December 4, 2016 determination. If Attorney Thompson 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~ ailability of applicable judicial t remedies). r o rs, Supervisor of Records cc: John M. Thompson, Esq. 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