Kurt D. Kovaly v. Framingham, City of - Police Department (SPR 20192038)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records October 22, 2019 SPR19/2038 Marilia Martins Records Access Officer Police Depaiiment City of Framingham 150 Concord St. Framingham, MA 01702 Dear Ms. Maiiins: I have received the petition of Kurt Kovaly appealing the response of the City of Framingham Police Department (Department) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 1O A; see also 50 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Mr. Kovaly requested a recording of a 911 call made on August 13, 2019. The Department's Response The Depaiiment initially responded on September 13, 2019, withholding the 911 recording pursuant to Exemption (a) as it applies to the CORI statute. Subsequently, the Department produced a redacted version of the recording on October 2, 2019. Unsatisfied with this response, Mr. Kovaly petitioned this office, and this appeal, SPR 19/2038, was opened as a result. 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 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, § 1 O(b )(iv); 950 C.M.R. 32.0(5(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 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

Marilia Martins SPR19/2038 Page 2 October 22, 2019 must not only cite an exemption, but must also state why the exemption applies to the withheld or redacted portion of the responsive record. Current Appeal Based on the Depaiiment' s response, it is unclear what exemption it is claiming to redact the recording. The Department's October 2nd response producing the recording does not identify any exemption. A response withholding records must include "identification of any specific exemption to the Public Records Law ... that applies to the withheld record." 950 C.M.R. 32.06(3)( )(5). C Subsequent to the intervention by a staff member of the Public Records Division, I learned that the Department intends on providing a supplemental response to Mr. Kovaly. Accordingly, the Department is ordered to provide a response to Mr. Kovaly consistent with this order, the Public Records Law, and its Access Regulations within.ten (10) business days. Itis preferable to send an electronic copy of this response to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us. Sincerely, ~ I T ~ · Supervisor of Records cc: Kmi Kovaly