Mitchell Kosht v. Brookline, Town of - Police Department (SPR 20211701)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records July 16, 2021 SPR21/1701 Amanda Williams Records Clerk Brookline Police Department 350 Washington Street Brookline, MA 02445 Dear Ms. Williams: I have received your petition on behalf of the Brookline Police Department (Department) seeking an extension of time to produce records. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). As required by law, it is my understanding that the Department furnished a copy of this petition to the requestor, Attorney Mitchell Kosht. Id. In a letter dated June 28, 2021, Attorney Kosht requested various records including internal investigation reports. Petition 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; (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). 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

Amanda Williams SPR21/1701 Page 2 July 16, 2021 Current Petition The July 9th petition states, “[t]he Department is looking for a 30-day extension, as we feel we cannot adequately respond to the PRR without the IAD officer who has full access and clearance to these records.” The Department explains, “[a]t this time, the keeper of the requested records is currently unavailable due to medical reasons and is unable to fill this request within the 10-day period. The files that are requested are maintained on the Department’s secured server. Accesses to these files are only accessible by the Department’s IAD Officer.” Conclusion I find that in light of the above, the Department has established good cause to permit an extension of time. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(c)(i)-(iv). I hereby grant the Department an extension of 30 business days to furnish copies of records responsive to Attorney Kosht’s request. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). Please note, Attorney Kosht has the right to seek judicial review of this decision by commencing a civil action in the appropriate superior court. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv)(4),10A(c). Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Mitchell Kosht, Esq.