Andrew Quemere v. Randolph, Town of - Town Clerk (SPR 20201690)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records September 28, 2020 SPR20/1690 Christine M. Griffin, Esq. Town Attorney Town of Randolph Law Department 41 South Main Street Randolph, MA 02368 Dear Attorney Griffin: I have received the petition of Andrew Quemere appealing the response of the Town of Randolph (Town) 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 use-of-force incidents. The Department responded on September 14, 2020, producing responsive records. Unsatisfied with the Department’s response, Mr. Quemere petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR20/1690, was opened as a result. The 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, § 10A(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 the Norfolk 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. 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

Christine Griffin, Esq. SPR20/1690 Page 2 September 28, 2020 Current Appeal In his appeal petition, Mr. Quemere states that the Town “has provided me with records that were created on a computer, however, the town has printed the records out and scanned them or applied some other process that removed the searchable text.” He requests that the Town “provide the documents with the searchable text intact.” Please be advised that 950 C.M.R. 32.04 provides: “…to the extent feasible, provide public records to a requester in electronic format unless the record is not available in electronic form or the requester does not have the ability to receive or access the records in electronic format and 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.” 950 C.M.R. 32.04(5)(d). Conclusion Accordingly, the Town is ordered to provide Mr. Quemere with a response to his request in a manner consistent 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. Mr. Quemere may appeal the substantive nature of the Town’s response within ninety days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Andrew Quemere