Sean Sheridan v. Massachusetts State Police (SPR 20220769)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records April 15, 2022 SPR22/0769; SPR22/0770 Allison Mondello Massachusetts Department of State Police 470 Worcester Road Framingham, MA 01702 Dear Ms. Mondello I have received the petitions of the Sean Sheridan appealing the nonresponse of the Massachusetts 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). Specifically, Mr. Sheridan requested texts and other communications between identified officers on a particular date. 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 these appeals and a communication from a member of the Public Records Division staff, it is not clear that a response has been provided. Accordingly, the Department is ordered to provide Mr. Sheridan with a response to the requests, 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. Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Sean Sheridan 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