Friedrich Lu v. Boston, City of - Public Records (SPR 20202475)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records December 29, 2020 SPR20/2475 Shawn Williams, Esq. City of Boston 1 City Hall Plaza, Room 615 Boston, MA 02201 Dear Attorney Williams: I have received the petition of Friedrich Lu appealing the response of the City of Boston (City) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On September 15, 2020, Mr. Lu requested the name of the driver and employee of the city truck involved in trash pickup at an identified address. Unsatisfied with the City’s response, Mr. Lu appealed and SPR20/2475 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. The City’s October 9th response On October 9th the City of Boston responded “[f]or privacy and safety reasons, the City of Boston does not release the name of any of its employees.” Under the Public Records Law, the burden shall be upon the records custodian to identify 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

Shawn Williams, Esq. SPR20/2475 Page 2 December 29, 2020 records being withheld and prove with specificity the exemption which applies. 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 ... "); see also Globe Newspaper Co. v. Police Comm'r, 419 Mass. 852, 857 (1995); - - - - - - Flatley, 419 Mass. at 511. See also Reinstein v. Police Comm'r of Boston, 378 Mass. 281, 289- - - - - - 90 (1979) (the statutory exemptions are narrowly construed and are not blanket in nature). Despite the City’s response, it remains unclear if the City possesses the records as requested. Conclusion Accordingly, the City is ordered to provide Mr. Lu with a response to the request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law, and its Regulations within 10 business days. A copy of any such response must be provided to this office. It is preferable to send an electronic copy of this response to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us. Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Friedrich Lu