Wayne Napolitano v. Malden, City of - Police Department (SPR 20201226)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records August 4, 2020 SPR20/1226 Kathy Hannan Department RAO Malden Police Department Malden, MA 02148 Dear Kathy Hannan: I have received the petition of Wayne Napolitano appealing the response of the City of Malden Police Department (Department) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, on July 13, 2020, Mr. Napolitano requested, “the name and badge number of the officer in the attached picture.” In a letter dated July 20, 2020, the Department provided Mr. Napolitano a response. Unsatisfied by this response, Mr. Napolitano petitioned this office and as a result SPR20/1226 was opened. 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, § l0A(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, § 10(b)(iv); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(3); see also Dist. Attorney for theNorfolk 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 its July 20, 2020 response, the Department writes, “[w]e have completed the work in reference to your request as referenced above. The response is given below. Sorry, but I do not have a picture attached to this request.” 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

Kathy Hannan SPR20/1226 Page 2 August 4, 2020 In his appeal to this office dated July 20, 2020, Mr. Napolitano states, “[b]elow you will see my request and the pictures provided along with the city of Malden’s response. Kathy Hannan of the Malden police department had given a response to my request on July, 20 2020. She stated that there was no picture attached to my request. I then sent her a screenshot of the form with the picture attached along with the picture itself. I would like to appeal the city of Malden’s response to the supervisor of records.” Subsequent to the intervention by a staff member of the Public Records Division, I learned that the Department provided a supplemental response dated July 27, 2020. Conclusion In light of the Department’s July 27th response, I will now consider this administrative appeal closed. Mr. Napolitano may appeal the substantive nature of the Department’s response within ninety days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Wayne Napolitano Chief Kevin Molis