Andrew Quemere v. Arlington, Town of - Police Department (SPR 20201756)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records October 5, 2020 SPR20/1756 Suzanne Santorelli Senior Records Clerk/Firearms Licensing Coordinator Arlington Police Department 112 Mystic Street Arlington, MA 02474 Dear Ms. Santorelli: I have received the petition of Andrew Quemere appealing the response of the Arlington 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 September 4, 2020, Mr. Quemere requested five categories of records: • “The police department's current use-of-force policies • A blank copy of each form used to report use-of-force incidents (if the form is part of a computer program and is not easily exportable, it is acceptable to provide screenshots) • All division-wide and department-wide use-of-force reports/audits for the years 2009 to the present (by division-wide and department-wide, I mean reports/audits that examine use of force by an entire division or the entire department, not reports/audits about a specific use-of-force incident) • All data on the number of use-of-force incidents for the years 2009 to the present (if the records contain data for additional years, please do not remove the extra data) • All data on the total number of use-of-force incidents involving each department employee.” The Department responded on September 21, 2020, providing responsive records. Unsatisfied with the Department’s response, Mr. Quemere petitioned this office, and SPR20/1756, 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 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

Suzanne Santorelli SPR20/1756 Page 2 October 5, 2020 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. If there are any fees associated with a response a written, good faith estimate must be provided. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(viii); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.07(2). Once fees are paid, a records custodian must provide the responsive records. Current Appeal In his appeal, Mr. Quemere states “[o]ne policy provided by the department was provided with searchable text removed even after I specified that documents should be provided with their original functionality intact.” Mr. Quemere further contends “[t]he department also withheld data, claiming that it was exempt under a number of exemptions. However, it provided no specific explanation as to how any of the exemptions apply to the requested records. It also claims that providing the data would require it to create a new record, however, exporting data is not considered creating a new record.” Please be advised that the relevant statute and regulation provide: “The records access officer shall, to the extent feasible, provide the public record in the requestor’s preferred format or, in the absence of a preferred format, in a searchable, machine readable format.” G. L. c. 66, § 6A(d). “…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). Subsequent to the opening of this appeal, on October 5, 2020, the Department provided the policy in a searchable, machine readable format to Mr. Quemere. After a conversation with a

Suzanne Santorelli SPR20/1756 Page 3 October 5, 2020 staff attorney of the Public Records Division, the Department confirmed it provided all responsive documents to the request. Please note, the only records the Department indicates are being withheld are completed use of force incidents, which are not responsive to the request. Conclusion Accordingly, whereas the Department provided responsive records in a searchable, machine readable format, and confirmed it does not possess additional records responsive to Mr. Quemere's request, I will consider this administrative appeal closed. Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Andrew Quemere