Amie M. Bonsaint v. Dracut, Town of (SPR 20201850)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records October 6, 2020 SPR20/1850 David J. Chartrand Deputy Chief of Police Dracut Police Department 110 Loon Hill Road Dracut, MA 01826 Dear Chief Chartrand: I have received your petition on behalf of the Dracut Police Department (Department) seeking an extension of time to produce records. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). As required by law, it is my understanding that the Department furnished a copy of this petition to the requestor. Id. In a letter dated September 28, 2020, Amie M. Bonsaint requested “all use of force reports and/or use of defensive tactics reports filed [regarding] any and all persons employed by the Dracut Police Department within the past five years; September 28, 2015- September 28, 2020.” Petition for an Extension of Time Under the Public Records Law, upon a showing of good cause, the Supervisor of Records (Supervisor) may grant a single extension to an agency not to exceed 20 business days and a single extension to a municipality not to exceed 30 business days. In determining whether there has been a showing of good cause, the Supervisor shall consider, but shall not be limited to considering: (i) the need to search for, collect, segregate or examine records; (ii) the scope of redaction required to prevent unlawful disclosure; (iii) the capacity or the normal business hours of operation of the agency or municipality to produce the request without the extension; (iv) efforts undertaken by the agency or municipality in fulfilling the current request and previous requests; (v) whether the request, either individually or as part of a series of requests from the same requestor, is frivolous or intended to harass or intimidate the agency or municipality; and (vi) the public interest served by expeditious disclosure. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). 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

David J. Chartrand SPR20/1850 Page 2 October 6, 2020 If the Supervisor determines that the request is part of a series of contemporaneous requests that are frivolous or designed to intimidate or harass, and the requests are not intended for the broad dissemination of information to the public about actual or alleged government activity, the Supervisor may grant a longer extension or relieve the agency or municipality of its obligation to provide copies of the records sought. Id. The filing of a petition does not affect the requirement that a Records Access Officer (RAO) shall provide an initial response to a requestor within ten business days after receipt of a request for public records. 950 C.M.R. 36.06(4)(b). Current Petition In a letter to the requestor dated September 28, 2020, the Department states it “maintains a Use of Force Log in electronic form. The log provides the incident number, date/time, Officer involved, type of force used, a determination if the use of force was compliant with policy, and whether or not an injury occurred. This could be provided at no cost.” The Department further notes, “[t]he Use of Force Reports themselves are not maintained electronically. In order to provide these to you they would have to be copied, reviewed and redacted, and then scanned electronically. This process would extend beyond the ten (10) day statutory requirement for production, and an extension of time would be necessary. There would also be costs associated with the process...Please respond and let me know if you wish to receive the Use of Force Log at no cost or the actual reports with their associated fees.” In a letter to the Department dated September 30, 2020, Ms. Bonsaint states, “I would be interested in the electronic data as well as the redacted documents. I am willing to pay the reasonable amount as per the statute. And I also am aware that this will excess the 10 day mark.” Conclusion In light of the requestor’s September 30th letter, I find it is unnecessary to opine on the Department’s extension request. This office encourages Ms. Bonsaint and the Department continue to communicate to facilitate providing records more efficiently and affordably. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(vii) (an agency or municipality shall suggest a reasonable modification of the scope of the request or offer to assist the requestor to modify the scope of the request if doing so would enable the agency or municipality to produce records sought more efficiently and affordably). When preparing a fee estimate for the provision of the requested records the Department is advised to provide a detailed explanation to the requestor detailing why the amount of time is necessary. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv) (requiring the amount of the fee must be reasonable). The Department must also provide the hourly rate being used and explain why it is that of the lowest paid employee with the necessary skill. The Department must provide a response to Ms. Bonsaint within five business days of receipt of this determination. See 950 C.M.R.

David J. Chartrand SPR20/1850 Page 3 October 6, 2020 32.06(4)(h)(4). Ms. Bonsaint may appeal the Department’s fee estimate within ninety days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Amie M. Bonsaint