Stanley Mazurczyk v. Chelmsford Police Department (SPR 20191645)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofR ecords August 27, 2019 SPR19/1645 Kathleen Bennett Chelmsford Police Records Town of Chelmsford- Police Depaiiment 2 Olde N01ih Road Chelmsford, MA O1 824 Ms. Bennett: I have received the petition from Stanley Mazurczyk appealing the response of the Town of Chelmsford Police Depaiiment (Depaiiment) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § lOA; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Mr. Mazurczyk requested records or evidence concerning Mr. Mazurczyk's house. After responses provided to Mr. Mazurczyk by the Town, he appealed to this office on August 13, 2019. Appeal 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, § lO(b). All records custodians must comply with both the Public Records Law and the Regulations with respect to the timeliness of response. The duty to comply with requests for records extends to those records that exist and are in the possession, custody, or control of the custodian ofrecords at the time of the request. See G. L. c. 66, § lO(a)(ii), (b)(ii). Also, the duty to comply with requests for records extends to identifying the agency or municipality that may be in possession, custody, or control of the public record sought, if known. See G. L. c. 66, § lO(b)(iii). 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, § lO(b)(iv) (written response must "identify any records, categories of records or p01iions of records that the agency or municipality intends to withhold, and provide the specific reasons for such withholding, including the specific exemption or exemptions upon which the withholding is based ... "); 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). One Ashbmion Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 • (617) 727-2832• Fax: (617) 727-5914 sec.state.ma.us/pre • pre@sec.state.ma.us

Ms. Kathleen Bennett SPR19/1645 Page 2 August 27, 2019 The Department provided a response on August 13, 2019 explaining that on "April 9, 2019 [the Depaiiment] provided [Mr. Mazurczyk] by email with the records we have regarding your request for: Please compel the Depaiiment to provide records as they relate to Chief Spinney' s statement that, I have offered to go to the subject's [Stanley Mazurczyk' s] house ... " The August 13th response email included attached responsive records that were provided to Mr. Mazurczyk concerning his past requests. The duty to comply with requests for records extends to those records that exist and are in the possession, custody, or control of the custodian of records at the time of the request. See G. L. c. 66, § lO(a)(ii), (b)(ii). Also, the duty to comply with requests for records extends to identifying the agency or municipality that may be in possession, custody, or control of the public record sought, if known. See G. L. c. 66, § lO(b) (iii). Conclusion Based on the Depaiiment's August 13th supplemental response, I find the Department has met its burden in responding to Mr. Mazurczyk's request. See G. L. c. 66, § lO(a)(ii), (b)(ii)(iii). I will now consider this administrative appeal closed. Sincerely, ~ u r r ~ Supervisor of Records cc: Stanley Mazurczyk