Jon Mahoney v. Stoneham, Town of - Police Department (SPR 20200531)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofR ecords March 24, 2020 SPR20/0531 Chief James T. Mcintrye Stoneham Police Department 4 7 Central Street Stoneham, MA 02180 Dear ChiefMcintrye: I have received the petition of Officer Jon Mahoney appealing the response of the Stoneham Police Department (Department) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 1O A; also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, on March 2, 2020, Mr. Mahoney requested, "the Lieutenant's report, all notes, witnesses statements and all department emails that mention the matter of the [internal affairs] investigation [relating to a named police officer]." The Department responded and Mr. Mahoney unsatisfied with the response appealed and this appeal SPR20-0531 was opened as a result. Tile 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, § 1O (b )(iv) (written response must "identify any records, categories of records or portions 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). Department March 41 response " In its March 4th response, the Department states, "[y]our request for the documents will not be granted as those documents are confidential records.11 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

Chief James T. Mclntrye SPR20/0531 Page 2 March 24, 2020 Burden ofs pecificity in claiming exemptions Under the Public Records Law, the burden shall be on the custodian to cite with specificity the exemption which applies. G. L. c. 66, § 1O (b )(iv) (written response must "identify any records, categories of records or portions 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 ... ''); see also Globe Newspaper Co. v. Police Comm'r, 419 Mass. 852, 857 (1995); Flatley, 419 Mass. at 511 (custodian has the burden of establishing the applicability of an exemption). The Department is advised that a records custodian is required to not only cite an exemption, but to specifically explain the applicability of the exemption to the requested records in order to comply with the Public Records Law and its Access Regulations. The Department's March 4th response did not contain the specificity required in a denial of access to public records. Further, the Department did not state whether the records can be redacted. As a result, I find that the Department did not satisfy its burden in responding to this records request. Order Accordingly, the Department is ordered to provide Officer Mahoney with a response to the request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations within 10 business days or as soon as is practicable. 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, ~~ Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc Officer Jon Mahoney