Maya Shaffer v. Chicopee, City of - Police Department (SPR 20200217)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofR ecords February 21, 2020 SPR20/0217 Louis Vezina Chicopee Police Department 110 Church Street Chicopee, MA O1 020 Dear Mr. Vezina: I have received the petition of Maya Shaffer of Critical MA News appealing the response of the Chicopee Police Department (Department) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § lOA; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Ms. Shaffer requested "lists of all accounts blocked by any official Chicopee Police Department social media ... " including Department Facebook and Twitter accounts. Prior Appeals The requested records have been the subject of prior appeals. See SPR 20/0105 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (January 30, 2020); SPR 19/2354 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (December 4, 2019). In my January 30th determination, I found that the Department had not met its burden of specificity to withhold responsive records pursuant to the privacy clause of Exemption (c), and ordered the Department to provide responsive records to Ms. Shaffer. The Department provided a response on February 1, 2020, producing screenshots indicating that the Department is not blocking any accounts on Facebook and Twitter. Unsatisfied with this response, Ms. Shaffer petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR 20/217, 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). 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

Louis Vezina SPR20/0217 Page 2 February 21, 2020 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); 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. Current Appeal In her appeal petition, Ms. Shaffer states that she "want[s] the records that existed when I made the request .... These screenshots do not satisfy the request I made ... " She indicates that "there were 75 blocked accounts when the request was made." 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). In light of Ms. Shaffer's petition, the Department must clarify whether it possesses responsive records that existed at the time of Ms. Shaffer's original request, made on November 1, 2019. If the Department does not possess the responsive records, it must demonstrate whether it followed proper record retention protocol. Please note that records must be retained in accordance with both applicable law and the retention schedules promulgated by this office. G. L. c. 66, §§ 1, 8, 13, 15. Conclusion Accordingly, the Department is ordered to provide a response to Ms. Shaffer, in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law, and its Regulations within 10 business days. 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. Sincerely, . vvvvo 01 ~ JJA/JAJ I··-- Rebecca S. Murray · Supervisor of Records cc: Maya Shaffer, Critical MA News