Dennis J. Driscoll v. Essex County Sheriff's Department (SPR 20191466)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records July 29, 2019 SPR19/1466 Attorney Scott B. Sullivan Essex County Sheriffs Department P.O. Box 807. 20 Manning A venue Middleton, MA O1 949 Dear Attorney Sullivan: I have received your petition on behalf of the Essex County Sheriffs Department (Depaiiment) seeking an extension of time to produce records. G. L. c. 66, § lO(c); see also 950 C.M.R. 36.06(4)(b). As required by law, the Depaiiment furnished a copy of this petition to the requestor. G. L. c. 66, § lO(c), lO(d)(iv). In a request received by the Depaiiment on June 21, 2019, Mr. Driscoll requested all 911 calls and transcripts with respect to an incident on June 18, 2019 at 5 p.m. in Andover. Previous Appeal This petition relates to a previous appeal. See SPR19 /1336 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (July 18, 2019). In SPR19/1336 I found the Depaiiment did not meet its burden to explain how an exemption applies to withhold the requested records in their entirety. Accordingly, I ordered the Department to review the responsive records, redact where necessary, and provide Mr. Driscoll with responsive records, provided in a manner consistent with the order, the Public Records Law, and it's Regulations within ten business days. Public Records Law Under the Public Records Law, upon a showing of good cause, the Supervisor of Records (Supervisor) may grant a single extension to an agency not to exceed 20 business days and a single extension to a municipality not to exceed 30 business days. In determining whether there has been a showing of good cause, the Supervisor shall consider, but shall not be limited to considering: (i) the need to search for, collect, segregate or examine records; (ii) the scope of redaction required to prevent unlawful disclosure; 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

Attorney Sullivan SPR19/1466 Page 2 July 29, 2019 (iii) the capacity or the normal business hours of operation of the agency or municipality to produce the request without the extension; (iv) efforts undertaken by the agency or municipality in fulfilling the current request and previous requests; (v) whether the request, either individually or as part of a series of requests from the same requestor, is frivolous or intended to harass or intimidate the agency or municipality; and (vi) the public interest served by expeditious disclosure. G. L. c. 66, § lO(c). If the Supervisor determines that the request is part of a series of contemporaneous requests that are frivolous or designed to intimidate or harass, and the requests are not intended for the broad dissemination of information to the public about actual or alleged government activity, the Supervisor may grant a longer extension or relieve the agency or municipality of its obligation to provide copies of the records sought. Id. The filing of a petition does not affect the requirement that a Records Access Officer (RAO) shall provide an initial response to a requestor within ten business days after receipt of a request for public records. 950 C.M.R. 36.06(4)(b). Current petition In your petition dated July 23, 2019, you state "[a]s part of said determination, the Depaiiment was directed to further respond to Mr. Driscoll in a manner consistent with the July 18 order/determination within ten (10) business days. The reason for this correspondence is to request an extension of time for the Depaiiment to further respond consistent with said order." You fmiher explain, "I am currently tied up and involved in a number of unrelated, previously scheduled matters and will be out of the office beginning Friday on vacation and will not return until Monday, August 5. As such, I will not be in a position to respond within ten ( 10) business days. As noted above, the Depaiiment would otherwise have until the end of the week next week to respond. As such, I would respectfully request that the Depaiiment be permitted an extension to file its response to Mr. Driscoll. Barring something unforeseen, I would anticipate being able to file a response on behalf of the Depaiiment the week of August 12, if not sooner." I find that in light of the Department July 23rd petition, and their indication of compliance, the Depaiiment has established good cause to permit an extension of time. G. L. c. 66 § lO(c)(i)-(iv). Conclusion For the reasons discussed above, the Department may produce the requested records on or before August 12, 2019. The records must be provided consistent with the Public Records Law and its Access 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.

Attorney Sullivan SPR19/1466 Page 3 July 29, 2019 The requestor may appeal the substantive nature of the Department's response within ninety days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Additionally, the requestor may seek judicial review of this decision by commencing a civil action in the superior court under G. L. c. 66, § 1O A( c ). Sincerely, ~~ Supervisor of Records cc: Dennis J. Driscoll