Yisbert Lara v. Boston, City of - Public Records (SPR 20192477)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records December 17, 2019 SPR19/2477 Shawn A. Williams, Esq. City of Boston, Public Records 1 City Hall Plaza, Room 615 Boston, MA 02201 Dear Attorney Williams: I have received the petition of Yisbert Lara appealing the response of the City of Boston (City) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § lOA; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Mr. Lara requested a copy ofrecords pertaining to procedures, protocols, rules, and regulations relating to the destruction of the film from the City's video cameras. Previous Appeal This case was·the subject ofa prior appeal. See SPR19/2410 (December 9, 2019). The City provided a response, which Mr. Lara appealed. 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). 11Public 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 District Attorney for the Norfolk Dist. v. Flatley, 419 Mass. 507, 511 (1995) ( custodian has the burden of establishing the applicability of an exemption). Td 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. 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

Shawn A. Williams, Esq. SPR19/2477 Page 2 December 17, 2019 Current appeal Subsequent to an intervention by a staff member of the Public Records Division, I learned that the City provided a response that informed Mr. Lara that "[t]he Archivist for Records Management ... follows the records retention schedules issued by the Supervisor of Records. For example, Retention Schedule 01.007 states that the retention period for surveillance video is one month." Further, the City confirms that it does not have any responsive records. The basis of Mr. Lara's appeal unclear. If Mr. Lara wishes to clarify the nature of his appeal, he is encouraged to provide additional information to this office. Additionally, Mr. Lara may request a copy of the Municipal Records Retention Schedule issued by the Supervisor of Records by writing to our office. · Sincerely, ~~ Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Yisbert Lara