Andrew Quemere v. Cambridge, City of - Law Department (SPR 20201686)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records September 28, 2020 SPR20/1686 Seah Levy Records Access Officer City of Cambridge Law Department City Hall 795 Massachusetts Ave. Cambridge, MA 02139 Dear Ms. Levy: I have received the petition of Andrew Quemere appealing the response of the City of Cambridge (City) to a request 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 Police Department internal affairs investigations. The City responded on September 9, 2020, producing responsive records, and indicating that information has been redacted pursuant to Exemptions (a), (c), (f), and (j) of the Public Records Law, as well as the attorney-client privilege. Unsatisfied with the City’s response, Mr. Quemere petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR20/1686, was opened as a result. Current Appeal In his appeal petition, Mr. Quemere states that “[t]he [C]ity cites a number of exemptions to the law, but does not explain with specificity how the exemptions apply to each redaction.” Burden of specificity in claiming exemptions Pursuant to the Public Records Law, the burden shall be upon the records custodian to establish the applicability of an exemption. G. L. c. 66, § 10(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…”); -se-e -al-so- -G-lo-be- N-e-w-sp-a-pe-r Co. v. Police Comm’r, 419 Mass. 852, 857 (1995); Flatley, 419 Mass. at 511. 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

Seah Levy SPR20/1686 Page 2 September 28, 2020 In an email dated September 25, 2020, the City explained that it intends to provide a supplemental response to Mr. Quemere. This response must provide further explanation regarding its exemption claims. Searchable Text In his appeal petition, Mr. Quemere states that “the city's redaction process appears to remove features such as searchable text from pages that contain redactions.” He requests that the City “provide copies of the records with such features intact.” Please note that 950 C.M.R. 32.04(5)(d) provides that records must be produced “if feasible, in the requesters preferred format. In the absence of a preferred format, the records shall be provided in a searchable machine-readable form.” Conclusion Accordingly, whereas the City has indicated that it intends to provide a supplemental response, I will consider this administrative appeal closed. A copy of the City’s response must be provided in accordance with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations within 10 business days. It is preferable to send an electronic copy of this response to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us. The requestor may appeal the substantive nature of the City’s response within ninety days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Andrew Quemere