Michael Sullivan v. Agawam City Clerk (SPR 20200983)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records June 29, 2020 SPR20/0983 Vincent F. Gioscia Agawam City Clerk 36 Main Street Agawam, MA 01001 Dear Vincent F. Gioscia: I have received your petition on behalf of the City of Agawam (City) seeking an extension of time to produce records. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). As required by law, it is my understanding that the City furnished a copy of this petition to the requestor, Michael Sullivan. Id. In a letter dated June 10, 2020, Mr. Sullivan requested, “all use-of-force reports filed by law enforcement officers from 2014 - 2020.” Mr. Sullivan notes, “I expect the request to be filled in an accessible format, including for screen readers, which provide text-to-speech for persons unable to read print. Files that are not accessible to screen readers include, for example, .pdf image files as well as physical documents.” Petition for an Extension of Time Under the Public Records Law, upon a showing of good cause, the Supervisor of Records (Supervisor) may grant a single extension to an agency not to exceed 20 business days and a single extension to a municipality not to exceed 30 business days. In determining whether there has been a showing of good cause, the Supervisor shall consider, but shall not be limited to considering: (i) the need to search for, collect, segregate or examine records; (ii) the scope of redaction required to prevent unlawful disclosure; (iii) the capacity or the normal business hours of operation of the agency or municipality to produce the request without the extension; (iv) efforts undertaken by the agency or municipality in fulfilling the current request and previous requests; (v) whether the request, either individually or as part of a series of requests from the same requestor, is frivolous or intended to harass or intimidate the agency or municipality; and (vi) the public interest served by expeditious disclosure. 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

Vincent Gioscia SPR20/0983 Page 2 June 29, 2020 G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). If the Supervisor determines that the request is part of a series of contemporaneous requests that are frivolous or designed to intimidate or harass, and the requests are not intended for the broad dissemination of information to the public about actual or alleged government activity, the Supervisor may grant a longer extension or relieve the agency or municipality of its obligation to provide copies of the records sought. Id. The filing of a petition does not affect the requirement that a Records Access Officer (RAO) shall provide an initial response to a requestor within ten business days after receipt of a request for public records. 950 C.M.R. 36.06(4)(b). Current Petition In its June 22nd petition, the City states, “[t]he request requires extensive searching and redacting of six years of records….Therefore, pursuant to 950 CMR 32.06(4) (e), the town of Agawam requests an additional 30 days to fulfill the request. Said extension to begin from the date of a grant of an extension by the Supervisor.” Conclusion I find that in light of the capacity of the City to produce the records without the extension; and the need to search for, segregate, and redact the requested records, the City has established good cause to permit an extension of time. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(c)(i)-(iv). I hereby grant the City an extension of 30 business days to furnish copies of records responsive to Mr. Sullivan’s request. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). This office encourages Mr. Sullivan and the City to continue to communicate to facilitate providing records more efficiently and affordably. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(vii) (a municipality shall suggest a reasonable modification of the scope of the request or offer to assist the requestor to modify the scope of the request if doing so would enable the municipality to produce records sought more efficiently and affordably). The City is advised it must provide the records in a manner consistent with the Public Records Law and its Access Regulations. To the extent possible, the City must provide responsive records on a rolling basis. Please note, Mr. Sullivan has the right to seek judicial review of this decision by commencing a civil action in the appropriate superior court. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv)(4), 10A(c).

Vincent Gioscia SPR20/0983 Page 3 June 29, 2020 Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Michael Sullivan