Greta Jochem v. Holyoke, City of - Police Department (SPR 20210617)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records March 19, 2021 SPR21/0617 Officer Caron L. Porter Holyoke Police Department 138 Appleton Street Holyoke, MA 01040-5706 Dear Officer Porter: I have received your petition on behalf of the Holyoke Police Department (Department) seeking relief from its obligation to produce responsive records and an extension of time to produce records. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4). As required by law, the Department furnished a copy of this petition to the requestor, Greta Jochem of the Daily Hampshire Gazette. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). The Department is requesting relief from requests made by Ms. Jochem and the Daily Hampshire Gazette since October 28, 2020. Previous Petition Please be advised, records requests made by Ms. Jochem before February 24, 2021, (the date of the Department’s most recent petition) have already been addressed in a prior petition. See SPR21/0517 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (March 3, 2021). Consequently, this petition only addresses Ms. Jochem’s subsequent records requests. In my March 3rd determination, I granted the Department an extension of 30 business days to furnish copies of records responsive to Ms. Jochem’s 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 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

Officer Caron L. Porter SPR21/0617 Page 2 March 19, 2021 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). 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 requester within ten business days after receipt of a request for public records. 950 C.M.R. 36.06(4)(b). Request for relief from obligation In its petition dated March 12, 2021, the Department states, “I have received numerous requests from Greta Jochem and the Daily Hampshire Gazette, for records, which is what we believe to be unduly burdensome requests. These requests are a part of a series of contemporaneous requests, that are frivolous and designed to intimidate and/or harass the Holyoke Police Department. They are not specific in their request for 10 years of internal affairs records, and the records requested are not intended for the broad dissemination of information to the public about actual or alleged government activity, which I believe is a fishing expedition.” The Department notes, “[t]he number of requests made and the limited access to these records, is making fulfillment of these requests unduly burdensome on the Department and its’ personnel.” Based on the information provided in its March 12th correspondence, I find that the Department has not established how the requests are “not intended for the broad dissemination of information to the public about actual or alleged government activity,” as required by G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). Extension of time to produce responsive records In its March 12th petition, the Department writes, “I am asking the Supervisor of Records to grant a longer extension….” The Department indicates “[o]ne of the requests is unduly burdensome, due to the broad scope of the request, 10 years of Internal Affairs Records.”

Officer Caron L. Porter SPR21/0617 Page 3 March 19, 2021 Based on the Department’s petition, I find it unclear for which requests submitted by Ms. Jochem the Department needs an extension of time to produce the responsive records. Conclusion Accordingly, the Department’s petition to be relieved of its obligation to provide copies of the records sought by the Daily Hampshire Gazette and Ms. Jochem is not granted. Further, the Department is advised to clarify which requests submitted by Ms. Jochem require an extension of time to produce. Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Greta Jochem