Andrew Quemere v. Brookline, Town of - Police Department (SPR 20201576)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records September 18, 2020 SPR20/1576, 1577, 1578 Neil Harrington Traffic/Records Division Supervisor Brookline Police Department 350 Washington Street Brookline, MA 02445 Dear Mr. Harrington: I have received the petitions of Andrew Quemere appealing the response of the Brookline Police Department (Department) to requests for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Mr. Quemere requested several categories of records pertaining to audits of the department’s overtime system, internal affairs investigations, and use-of-force incidents. The Department responded on September 3, 2020, denying access to responsive records. Unsatisfied with the Department’s response, Mr. Quemere petitioned this office and these appeals, SPR20/1576, 20/1577, and 20/1578, were opened as a result. Current Appeal In its responses, the Department states that “this request has been denied for failure to pay for previous requested materials under the Record Access Regs (950 CMR 32.07)(n)….” Please note that 950 C.M.R. 32.07(n) provides that “A records access officer may provide written notice denying access to public records to a requester who has failed to compensate the custodian for previously produced public records…” (emphasis added). Based on the Department’s response and Mr. Quemere’s petition, it appears that the records responsive to the previous request to which the Department refers were not produced. Therefore, the Department may not claim 950 C.M.R. 32.07(n) to deny these requests. Subsequent to the opening of this appeal, in a telephone conversation with a staff attorney of the Public Records Division, a representative from the Department indicated that it would provide a supplemental response to the requests. 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

Neil Harrington SPR20/1576, 1577, 1578 Page 2 September 18, 2020 Conclusion Accordingly, the Department is ordered to provide Mr. Quemere with a response to the requests, provided 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, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Andrew Quemere