Jennifer Soldano v. Hudson, Town of - Police Department (SPR 20190594)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofR ecords April 3, 2019 SPR19/594 Terri Osborne Hudson Police/Fire/EMS Communications Supervisor/Records 911 Municipal Drive Hudson, MA 01749 Dear Ms. Osborne: I have received the petition of Jennifer Soldano appealing the response of the Hudson 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, Ms. Soldano requested incident reports and 911 recordings. Although Ms. Soldano received some records, she believes more existed. The Public Records Law The Public Records La:w 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 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, § 1O (b )(iv); 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. If there are any fees associated with a response a written, good faith estimate must be provided. G. L. c. 66, § 1 O(b )(viii); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.07(2). Once fees are paid, a records custodian must provide the responsive records. 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

Terri Osborne SPR19/594 Page2 April 3, 2019 Conclusion In an email communication, Ms. Osborne informed this office that all incident reports and 911 records have been provided to Ms. Soldano both electronically and via mail. In addition, a CD with all records was provided. Where all responsive records have been provided, I consider this administrative appeal closed. Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Jennifer Soldano