Andrew daMota v. Massachusetts Department of State Police (SPR 20212954)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records November 22, 2021 SPR21/2954 Jennifer M. Staples, Esq. Chief Legal Counsel Massachusetts Department of State Police 470 Worcester Road Framingham, MA 01702 Dear Attorney Staples: I have received the petition of Andrew daMota, Esq., of the Committee for Public Counsel Services, appealing the nonresponse of the Department of State Police (Department) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On September 30, 2021, Attorney daMota requested investigation reports involving named officers, including, but not limited to: 1. All civilian complaints against [the officers] . . . 2. All internal investigations and disciplinary history . . . 3. All documents supporting or relating to such investigations . . . Claiming to not yet have received a response, Attorney daMota petitioned this office, and this appeal, SPR21/2954, was opened as a result. Under the Public Records Law and its Regulations, all requests for public records must be met with a response within 10 business days from receipt of the request. G. L. c. 66, § 10(a)- (b). The response may contain, among other things, an offer to provide records, a fee estimate for provision of the records, or a denial. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b). All records custodians must comply with both the Public Records Law and the Regulations with respect to the timeliness of response. Despite being notified of the opening of this appeal, it is unclear if a response has been provided. Accordingly, the Department is ordered to provide Attorney daMota with a response to the request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations within 10 business days. A copy of the 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. 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

Jennifer Staples, Esq. SPR21/2954 Page 2 November 22, 2021 Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Andrew daMota, Esq.