Laura Crimaldi v. Dedham, Town of - Police Department (SPR 20170010)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofR ecords January 9, 2017 SPR17/010 Michael d'Entremont Chief of Police Dedham Police Department 600 High Street Dedham, MA 02026 Dear Chief d'Entremont: I have received the petition of Laura Crimaldi of The Boston Globe appealing the response of the Town of Dedham-Police Department (Department) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 1O (b ); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Specifically, Ms. Crimaldi requested a log of all internal affairs investigations conducted by the Department from 2013 to the present (July 1, 2016 the date ofthe request), all internal affairs records regarding three (3) specifically identified employees and all records regarding the resignation of a specifically identified employee. Previous determination In a December 5 determination, the Supervisor of Records (Supervisor) found that the Department had provided responsive records, including a log of internal investigations. The Department withheld internal affairs records associated with the resignation of the employee who is the subject of the records pursuant to Exemption (f) of the Public Records Law. The Supervisor found that the Department had met its obligation under the Public Records Law. See SPR16/533 Determination ofthe Supervisor ofRecords (December 5, 2016). While the Department provided Ms. Crimaldi with the responsive log, the Department neither provided the investigation numbers nor the names of the police officers who were investigated from 2013 through July 1, 2016. The log only contained the year and month of each investigation. Ms. Crimaldi appealed. The Public Records Law 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 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

ChiefMichael d'Entremont SPR17/010 Page 2 January 9, 2017 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). 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. An attorney on my staff contacted the Department's Legal Counsel, KP Law, P.C. by telephone and via email, providing a copy of the appeal file to assist in responding to this appeal. In a January 6, 2017 email, Janelle Austin an attorney with KP Law indicated that another response from the Department will be provided to Ms. Crimaldi concerning the responsive log of internal affairs investigations. Accordingly, I will consider this appeal closed with the proviso that the Department provides Ms. Crimaldi with a response regarding the internal affairs investigation log, in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations. 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. Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Ms. Laura Crimaldi, Ms. Lauren F. Goldberg, Esq.