Stevan Johnson v. Boston, City of - Public Records (SPR 20220114)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records February 1, 2022 SPR22/0114 Shawn A. Williams, Esq. Director of Public Records Records Access Officer City of Boston 1 City Hall Plaza Boston, MA 02201 Dear Attorney Williams: I have received the petition of Stevan Johnson appealing the nonresponse of the City of Boston (City) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On December 28, 2021, Mr. Johnson requested various documents related to an incident surrounding the suspension of a particular Boston Police Officer. Claiming to not yet have received a response, Mr. Johnson petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR22/0114, was opened as a result. Under the Public Records Law and the Access Regulations (Regulations) all requests for public records must be met with a response within 10 business days of receipt of the request. G. L. c. 66, § l0(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, § l0(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 and a communication from a member of the Public Records Division staff, it is unclear whether a response has been provided. Accordingly, the City is ordered to provide Mr. Johnson 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 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. 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

Shawn Williams, Esq. SPR22/0114 Page 2 February 1, 2022 Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Stevan Johnson