Mitchell Kosht v. Springfield, City of (SPR 20210413)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records February 23, 2021 SPR21/0413 Stephen G. Roche, Esq. Law Department City of Springfield 36 Court Street, Room 210 Springfield, MA 01103 Dear Attorney Roche: I have received your petition on behalf of the City of Springfield (City) seeking an extension of time to furnish copies of requested public records, or any portion thereof. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4). As required by law, the City provided a copy of the petition to the requestor. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). In eight different requests spanning dates from November 3, 2020, to February 19, 2021, Mitchell Kosht of the Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS) requested: 1. Public Records Request #R002843.110320, received on 11/03/2020 Documents related to every search warrant filed after January 1, 2018 by [3 identified Officers]. Specifically, relevant documents include, but are not limited to, the search warrant application, documentation of the warrant’s return, and the accompanying affidavit. 2. Public Records Request #R002846-110420, received on 11/04/2020 The following reports related to arrests: #19-1442-AR; #14-4038-AR; #15-1213-AR; #18-763-AR; #18-4231-AR; #17-4306-AR; #164570-AR[.] Any related reports, documents, records of interviews, administrative findings, or investigations which pertain to any of the incidents listed above. 3. Public Records Request #R002921-112020, received on 11/20/2020 1. Reports containing the Internal Investigation Unit (IIU) histories for approximately 150 Springfield PD officers Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, or other similar sites) for criminal investigations and surveillance. 2. Any and all policies, directives, memoranda, trainings, or other departmental guidance, 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

Stephen G. Roche, Esq. SPR21/0413 Page 2 February 23, 2021 whether written or unwritten, regarding the preservation of online searches, browser histories, cookies, or other digital records on department-owned computers, cell phones, tablets or other hardware. 3. The full list of all officers who have been issued cell phones or tablets by the Springfield Police Department. 4. Public Records Request #R002930-112320, received on 11/23/2020 1. Any police report, arrest narrative, or body worn camera footage that is related [to] the events which resulted in the civil lawsuits listed below. Also, any reports or narratives submitted to the internal investigation unit (IIU), and any reports, narratives, interviews, and factual determinations generated by the IIU which relate to the events that produced the following [25] civil lawsuits . . . 5. Public Records Request #R003196-012521, received on 01/25/2021 and response sent on 02/12/2021 1. Any and all policies, directives, memoranda, trainings, or other departmental guidance, whether written or unwritten, regarding the use of social media websites (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, or other similar sites) for criminal investigations and surveillance. 2. Any and all policies, directives, memoranda, trainings, or other departmental guidance, whether written or unwritten, regarding the preservation of online searches, browser histories, cookies, or other digital records on department-owned computers, cellphones, tablets or other hardware. 3. The full list of all officers who have been issued cellphones or tablets by the Springfield Police Department. 6. Public Records Request #R003200-012621, received on 01/26/2021 1. . . . all data which the Springfield Police Department intended to share with [an identified Professor] prior to this course, [‘Engineering Sciences 298R: Data Fusion in Complex Systems: A Case Study,’] being canceled. 2. Any and all correspondence, including but not limited to emails, letters, and memoranda of understanding, generated after January 1, 2009, between any employee of the Springfield Police Department and Professor . . . of the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. 3. Any and all correspondence, including but not limited to emails, letters, and memoranda of understanding, between any employee of the Springfield Police Department and [an identified individual]. 4. Any and all correspondence, including but not limited to emails, letters, and memoranda of understanding, generated after January 1, 2008, between any employee of the Springfield

Stephen G. Roche, Esq. SPR21/0413 Page 3 February 23, 2021 Police department and [an identified individual]. 5. Any and all correspondence, including but not limited to emails, letters, and memoranda of understanding, generated after January 1, 2008, between any employee of the Springfield Police department and [an identified individual]. 7. Public Records Request #R003210-012721, received on 01/27/2021 1. The City of Springfield Fiscal Year 2021. . . . I request any and all contracts, memoranda of understanding, or other form of written agreements between the funders of these grants and the Springfield Police Department. 2. Any and all directives, guidance, trainings or other documentation developed within the Springfield Police Department regarding the implementation of these grants or describing their requirements, conditions, and operations. 3. The grant applications and accompanying documentation which led to the Springfield Police Department receiving the grants listed above. 4. Any and all grant applications and accompanying documentation, which the Springfield Police Department (or other part of the City of Springfield seeking funding on behalf of the SPD) submitted between January 1, 2018 and the present, whether or not those applications were accepted. 8. Public Records Request #R003336-021921, received on 02/19/2021 1. Any and all written complaints, witness statements, interview summaries, investigator notes, Special Order Reports, or other material pertaining to the complaint and subsequent investigation for each incident listed in [an identified Officer’s] IIU history report. . . . A representative from the City contacted this office on February 17, 2021, requesting an extension of time to respond to Mr. Kosht’s requests. On February 23, 2021, the most recent request received on February 19, 2021, was added to this petition request. Petitions 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;

Stephen G. Roche, Esq. SPR21/0413 Page 4 February 23, 2021 (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). The filing of a petition does not affect the requirement that a Records Access Officer (RAO) shall provide an initial response to a requester within ten business days after receipt of a request for public records. 950 C.M.R. 36.06(4)(b). Current petition In the City’s petition dated February 16, 2021, you indicate that the City has received “19 substantial requests in 3 1/2 months” from Mr. Kosht. Moreover, you indicate that the “documents are being provided on a rolling basis. Citing a pending lawsuit also involving CPCS, the City has “added a new, full-time position to work on the CPCS lawsuit and records requests [which] requires 100% of her time … [as] these requests require a lot of work and must also be reviewed and redacted.” Additionally, given the volume a “ligation paralegal in the Law Department now spends at least 50% of her time in assisting on CPCS requests.” You also indicated that you “spend over 50% of [your] time reviewing records.” In light of the above, the City requested an extension of 30 days. Conclusion Given the timeliness of this petition for the four requests submitted in November 2020, I am unable to opine on a time extension for these requests. On the other hand, for the requests dated January 25, 26, 27 and February 19, 2021, I hereby grant the City an extension of 30 business days from the date of this determination to furnish copies of records responsive to Mr. Kosht’s requests. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). The City is advised it must provide the records in a manner consistent with the Public Records Law and its Regulations. To the extent possible, the City must provide responsive records on a rolling basis. Mr. Kosht may seek judicial review of this decision by commencing a civil action in the appropriate superior court. See G. L. c. 66, §§ 10(c), 10A(c). Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Mitchell Kosht