Julian Castle Logan v. Everett, City of - Police Department (SPR 20170609)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofR ecords May 12, 2017 SPR17/609 Captain Paul Hamilton Records Access Officer City of Everett Police Department 45 Elm Street Everett, MA 02149 Dear Captain Hamilton: I have received the petition of Julian Castle Logan appealing the non-response of the City of Everett Police Department (Department) to his March 31, 2017 request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § lOA; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Mr. Logan requested a copy of the codes, regulations, guidelines, policies and procedures concerning evidence and handling of personal property of individuals or prisoners taken into police custody for questioning that were in effect on or around February 23-25, 2004. When the Department did not respond within ten (10) days, Mr. Logan appealed and the current appeal was opened. Mr. Logan also appealed the redaction of the case#, OBTN, Code, Statute and Charge on a 2004 booking sheet of an identified person that the Department provided to Mr. Logan on April 24, 2017. The Department did not provide Mr. Logan with the exemption in the Public Records Law that allowed the Department to redact that information from the booking sheet. Under the Public Records Law and the Access Regulations (Regulations) all requests for public records must be met with a response within ten (10) business days of receipt of the request. G. L. c. 66, §§ lO(a),(b ). The response may contain, among other things, an offer to provide records, a fee estimate for provision of the records, or a denial. G. L. c. 66, § lO(b). All records custodians must comply with both the Public Records Law and the Regulations with respect to the timeliness of response. 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, § lOA(d); 950 C.M.R. 32.03(4). "Public records" is broadly defined to include all documentary materials or data, regardless of physical 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

Capt. Paul Hamilton SPR17/609 Page2 May 12, 2017 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(1?); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(3); see also Dist. 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. A Public Records attorney telephoned the Department to discuss this appeal with you, but was unable to connect with you. The Department was provided with Mr. Logan's March 31, 2017 public records request, an acknowledgment letter from this office dated May 4, 2017 providing an appeal number and notice that a public records appeal had been opened by this office, and this office provided you with a copy of the appeal file. Order Accordingly, the Department is hereby ordered to provide Mr. Logan with a response that specifically explains what exemption in the Public Records Law allows the Department to redact the sentence in the booking sheet regarding the charges against the identified person, and a response to Mr. Logan's March 31st request, made in accordance with the Public Records Law, its Access Regulations and this order within ten (10) business days. This administrative appeal is now closed. 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. Mr. Logan may appeal the substantive nature of the response within ninety (90) calendar days. 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, ~ u r r ~ Supervisor of Records cc: Julian Castle Logan