Allison Jarmanning v. Boston, City of - Police Department (SPR 20220256)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records February 16, 2022 SPR22/0256 Shawn A. Williams, Esq. Director of Public Records Records Access Officer City of Boston One City Hall Square Boston, MA 02201 Dear Attorney Williams: I have received the petition of Allison Jarmanning, of WBUR, appealing the response of the Boston Police Department (Department) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On June 17, 2021, Ms. Jarmanning requested: A current roster of sworn personnel at the Boston police department. This should include but not be limited to: name, ID, start date, sex, job title, ethnic group or race, and assignment or unit. . . . The law also requires the record to be provided in its native form (ie. an Excel spreadsheet, CSV, etc.)[.] The Department provided an initial response on November 29, 2021, including a link to access responsive records. Subsequently, the Department provided another set of responsive records on December 10, 2021. Claiming the records did not contain all the requested fields, Ms. Jarmanning petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR22/0256, was opened as a result. The Public Records Law The Public Records Law strongly favors disclosure by creating a presumption that all governmental records are public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A(d); 950 C.M.R. 32.03(4). “Public records” is broadly defined to include all documentary materials or data, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received by any officer or employee of any agency or municipality of the Commonwealth, unless falling within a statutory exemption. G. L. c. 4, § 7(26). It is the burden of the records custodian to demonstrate the application of an exemption in order to withhold a requested record. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(iv); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(3); see also Dist. 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 A. Williams, Esq. SPR22/0256 Page 2 February 16, 2022 Attorney for the Norfolk Dist. v. Flatley, 419 Mass. 507, 511 (1995) (custodian has the burden of establishing the applicability of an exemption). To meet the specificity requirement a custodian must not only cite an exemption, but must also state why the exemption applies to the withheld or redacted portion of the responsive record. Current appeal In its December 10, 2021 response, the Department enclosed records responsive to Ms. Jarmanning’s request. In her appeal petition, Ms. Jarmanning states that on the above date, the Department “. . . replied with a dataset that more closely matched what I asked for . . . but it did not include the unit assignment field. [The Department] wrote that ‘this information is not as readily available as the other information.’ . . . I asked . . . why the department was able to provide this information in the past, but no longer could. I have not received a response. . . .” In light of the above, it is unclear if the Department possesses the remaining field requested by Ms. Jarmanning. Please be advised, 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). The Department must clarify this matter. It is my understanding that on February 4, 2022, the Department notified Ms. Jarmanning that it intends on providing an update should there be additional information. Conclusion Accordingly, the Department is ordered to provide Ms. Jarmanning with a response to the request, provided 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: Allison Jarmanning