Andrew Quemere v. Lawrence, City of - Police Department (SPR 20201692)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records September 28, 2020 SPR20/1692 James Fitzpatrick Lawrence Police Department 90 Lowell Street Lawrence, MA 01840 Dear Mr. Fitzpatrick: I have received the petition of Andrew Quemere appealing the response of the Lawrence Police Department (Department) 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 Department internal affairs investigations. The Department responded on September 2, 2020, producing responsive records. Unsatisfied with the Department’s response, Mr. Quemere petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR20/1692, was opened as a result. Current Appeal In his appeal petition, Mr. Quemere states that “it is not clear if the data set it provided me is complete or has been stripped of additional columns of information.” In a phone call with a staff attorney of the Public Records Division on September 28, 2020, the Department confirmed that it had not removed information from the records it produced. No Duty to Create Records Please be advised, under the Public Records Law a custodian is not required to create a record in response to a public records request. See G. L. c. 66, §6A(d). In addition, a public employee is not required to answer questions, or do research, or create documents in response to questions. See 32 Op. Atty Gen. 157, 165 (May 18, 1977). The duty to comply with requests for records extends to those records that exist and are in the possession, custody, or control of the custodian of records at the time of the request. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(a)(ii). In its September 2nd response, the Department states that with respect to the request for “all data on the total number of complaints against each department employee,” its response 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

James Fitzpatrick SPR20/1692 Page 2 September 28, 2020 “will require a conversation with the vendor because I have not been trained on how to access this data. An estimate of appropriate fees will be forthcoming.” The Department indicated on September 28th that it would provide a supplemental response regarding the request for incidents broken down by employee. Conclusion Accordingly, whereas the Department has indicated that it intends to provide a supplemental response regarding Mr. Quemere’s request, I will consider this administrative appeal closed. This 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 Department’s response within ninety days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Andrew Quemere