Olufunmilola Shelly v. Natick, Town of (SPR 20212301)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records September 23, 2021 SPR21/2301 Kathleen Lentini Town Clerk Town of Natick 13 East Central Street Natick, MA 01760 Dear Ms. Lentini: I have received the petition of Olufunmilola Shelly appealing the response of the Town of Natick to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On August 13, 2021, Ms. Shelly requested certain police reports between May 1, 2021 and June 1, 2021. On August 16, 2021, the Town responded. Unsatisfied with the Town’s response, Ms. Shelly petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR21/2301, was opened as a result. The Town’s August 16th response In its August 16th response the Town stated, “[w]e have no responsive documents to this request.” Current Appeal In her appeal petition, Ms. Shelly states, “…There was a police report filed. The town states there is no filing. The victim states otherwise.” Records in existence The duty to comply with requests for records extends to those records that exist and are in the possession, custody, or control of the custodian of records at the time of the request. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(a)(ii). In light of the issues raised in Ms. Shelly’s appeal regarding the existence of responsive records, I find it is unclear whether responsive records exist. The Town must explain whether responsive records existed and were destroyed, or whether the records did not initially exist. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(a)(ii), (b)(ii). 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 Lentini SPR21/2301 Page 2 September 23, 2021 Conclusion Accordingly, the Town is ordered to provide Ms. Shelly with a response to this request in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law, and its Regulations within ten (10) business days. A copy of any such 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. Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Olufunmilola Shelly