Seth Kershner v. Pittsfield Police Department (SPR 20171645)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records December 1, 2017 SPR17/1645 Kerri Striebel Records Clerk Pittsfield Police Department 39 Allen Street Pittsfield, MA 01201 Ms. Striebel: I have received the petition from Mr. Seth Kershner appealing the nonresponse of the Pittsfield Police Department (Department) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 1O A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Mr. Kershner requested "[a]ll after-action reports or other written reports documenting each time the Special Response team was deployed. Any reports showing breakdowns of SWAT deployments by crime, requesting agency, or purpose for the raid (e.g., to serve a warrant, arrest someone, defuse a hostage crisis, etc.), any post deployment documentation, and any photographs showing damage caused to a residence by the SRT during the course of an operation." Having received no response, Mr. Kershner petitioned this office. Under the Public Records Law and the Access Regulations (Regulations) all requests for public records must be met with a response within ten business days ofreceipt 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, § 1O (b ). All records custodians must comply with both the Public Records Law and the Regulations with respect to the timeliness of response. Subsequent to the intervention by a staff member of the Public Records Division, this office was notified that the Department has contacted Mr. Kershner and is working towards completing his records request. The Department must respond within ten business days. Mr. Kershner may appeal the substantive nature of the Department's response within ninety days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1 ). 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

Kerri Striebel SPRl 7/1645 Page 2 December 1, 201 7 Sincerely, ~ u r r ~ Supervisor of Records cc: Seth Kershner