Todd Wallack v. Barnstable, Town of - Police Department (SPR 20212259)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records September 16, 2021 SPR21/2259 Kathleen I. Hinckley Records Access Officer Town of Barnstable Police Department P.O. Box B Hyannis, MA 02601 Dear Ms. Hinckley: I have received the petition of Todd Wallack of WBUR appealing the response of the Town of Barnstable Police Department (Department) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Mr. Wallack requested: “[d]ocuments showing the names of sworn officers within the Department who were terminated for misconduct, agreed to resign or retire to resolve misconduct accusations, or resigned or retired with a pending internal affairs investigation since January 1, 2020.” Prior appeal In the prior appeal, the Department informed this office, in its August 20, 2021 response, that it withheld two (2) records, in their entirety, under Exemption (c). In its August 20th response, the Department asserts, “[b]ased on our understanding of Mr. Wallack’s request, the Department has located 2 records that we believe are or may be responsive. However, those records are personnel records that relate to particular employees and are not part of any internal affairs investigative file, and therefore, do not relate to a law enforcement misconduct investigation. We are withholding these records pursuant to exemption (c).” In order to facilitate a determination as to the Department’s Exemption (c) claim, I ordered the Department to provide un-redacted copies of the 2 records in the Department’s possession for in camera inspection. See SPR21/2126 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (Supervisor) (September 2, 2021). 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

Kathleen I. Hinckley, RAO SPR21/2259 Page 2 September 16, 2021 Current appeal After my September 2nd determination of SPR21/2126 was issued, Mr. Wallack sent an email to this office at 11:00 PM on September 2nd. In his email, Mr. Wallack states, “I wish to provide further information to help you resolve appeal SPR21/2126.” Mr. Wallack’s September 2nd response will be considered in the further determination of SPR21/2126 that has yet to be issued. Consequently, I will consider SPR21/2259 closed at this time. Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Todd Wallack, WBUR