Hans Hysenaj v. Springfield, City of - Police Department (SPR 20210641)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records March 26, 2021 SPR21/0641 Andrea L. Stone Records Access Officer Springfield Police Department 130 Pearl Street Springfield, MA 01105 Dear Ms. Stone: I have received the petition of Hans Hysenaj, Brian Hurley, and Alexandra Sissons of the Innocence Clinic appealing the response of the Springfield Police Department (Department) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On March 7, 2021, Mr. Hysenaj requested “[a]ny and all police records, arrest records, investigative report[s], internal investigations and any type of public records concerning” three named individuals from a specified time period. On March 11, Mr. Hysenaj provided the date of birth for one of the individuals. The Department responded on March 12, 2021, indicating “there are no records for” the individual whose date of birth was provided. Concerning the other two individuals, the Department explained that “without a Date of Birth [the Police Department Records Division] cannot narrow the search, therefore there are no records responsive to this part of [the] request.” Unsatisfied with the Department’s response, Mr. Hysenaj appealed, and SPR21/0641 was opened as a result. Current Appeal In his appeal petition, Mr. Hysenaj expresses “doubt that no records of [his] client exist” and that he “would like [the Department] to engage in a more thorough search.” He also indicates for the first time that his “client was arrested by [the Department] and such records should be in existence.” Reasonable Description of Records Sought A public records request must reasonably describe the records sought. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(a)(i). In Chawla, the Superior court found that under the Public Records Law “[t]he 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 L. Stone SPR21/0641 Page 2 March 26, 2021 reasonable description requirement contemplates that a requesting party will identify documents or categories of documents with sufficient particularity that government employees will be able to understand exactly what they are looking for, and then make a prompt production.” See Jaideep Chawla v. Dept of Revenue, Suffolk. Sup. No. l 784CV02087, at 2 (January 23, 2019). In its initial response to Mr. Hysenaj on March 8, 2021, the Department explained that it “require[d] additional information in order to respond to [his] request.” Specifically, it needed “the Date of Birth for the individuals [he was] requesting the information on.” In its response of March 12, 2021, the Department reiterated that “without a Date of Birth [it] cannot narrow the search, therefore there are no records responsive to this part of [the] request.” In a phone conversation with this office on March 23, 2021, the Department further explained that without a date of birth, especially where the individuals in question have very common last names and the time period of the request spans a six-month window, it is impossible for the department to sufficiently narrow its search to identify the records sought by Mr. Hysenaj. Conclusion Based on the forgoing, I find it is unclear for which specific individuals Mr. Hysanaj seeks records. Mr. Hysenaj may wish to modify or clarify his request to the Department in order to provide the sufficient particularity needed in order to search the Department’s records. Specifically, he may wish to provide the Department with dates of birth for all individuals named in his request, and particular information about which of them were arrested by the Department or what other interactions they may have had with the Department and on what dates. G. L. c 66, § 10(a)(i) (the request must reasonably describe the public record sought). Accordingly, I will now consider this administrative appeal closed. If Mr. Hysenaj wishes to submit another public records request to the Department as outlined above, and is unsatisfied with the response, he may again appeal that response within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, .· I , ' ' . - - .. . ~ Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Hans Hysenaj