S. Howey v. Springfield, City of (SPR 20210474)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records March 10, 2021 SPR21/0474 Andrea Stone Records Access Officer City of Springfield 36 Court Street; Room 210 Springfield, MA 01103 Dear Ms. Stone: I have received the petition of S. Howey appealing the response of the City of Springfield (City) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, S. Howey requested: “…all 911 audio digital/tape calls; all fire reports; all log book entries; all EMS reports; all EMS calls; all 911 Incident Recall Sheets; Calls for Service Reports; all Incident Reports; All Case Reports; all dispatch logs; all reports; investigative reports; all emergency transport records pertaining to [an identified address] from Nov. 19th, 2020 to the present.” The City provided S. Howey with a redacted 911 call report and the redacted 911 audio of the call. As a result of the redactions, S. Howey petitioned the Supervisor of Records (Supervisor), and this appeal was opened. A review by this office of the petition, revealed that the City did not provide a response that indicated the exemptions in the Public Records Law to withhold content from the 911 call report and 911 audio call. 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) (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 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

Andrea Stone SPR21/0474 Page 2 March 10, 2021 exemption or exemptions upon which the withholding is based…”); 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). On March 10, 2021, the City informed this office that it will provide a subsequent response. Conclusion The City is ordered to provide S. Howey with said response in compliance with the Public Records Laws and its Access Regulations within 10 business days. A copy of the 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. S. Howey may appeal the substantive nature of the City’s response within 90 calendar days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: S. Howey