Daniel D. Jaffe v. Boston, City of - Public Records (SPR 20220712)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records April 7, 2022 SPR22/0712 Shawn A. Williams, Esq. Director of Public Records Records Access Officer City of Boston One City Hall Plaza, Room 615 Boston, MA 02201 Dear Attorney Williams: I have received the petition of Attorney Daniel Jaffe, of the CPCS Strategic Litigation Unit, appealing the nonresponse of the City of Boston (City) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On January 19, 2022, Attorney Jaffe requested the following records for the period of January 1, 2010 to the present: [1] A spreadsheet…containing the following fields of data pertaining to each time the Boston Police Department or an employee thereof has been criminally prosecuted for actions or omissions committed in the course of employment…[;] [2] Any report, docket, ledger, list, or document which summarizes or pertains to criminal prosecutions against the Boston Police Department or an employee thereof[;] [3] If the Boston Police Department or an employee thereof has not been criminally prosecuted, we request affirmative written confirmation[.] In response, Attorney Williams stated on March 10, 2022, “[a] review indicates no recent activity on this request. Should you still seek records, I encourage you to file a new request using the [City’s] public records request portal.” Unsatisfied with the City’s response and claiming to not yet have received responsive records, Attorney Jaffe petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR22/0712, was opened as a result. 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. SPR22/0712 Page 2 April 7, 2022 The duty to comply with requests for records extends to those records that exist and are in 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 City’s response provided, it remains unclear whether any responsive records. Accordingly, the City is ordered to provide Attorney Jaffe with a response to his request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Access Regulations within ten (10) business days. A copy of any such response must be provided to this office. Attorney Jaffe may appeal the substantive nature of the City’s response within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Daniel Jaffe, Esq.