Sadiq Reza v. Lexington, Town of - Police Department (SPR 20220906)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records April 27, 2022 SPR22/0906 Chief Michael McLean Lexington Police Department 1575 Massachusetts Avenue Lexington, MA 02420 Dear Chief McLean: I have received the petition of Sadiq Reza appealing the response of the Lexington Police Department (Department) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On March 1, 2022, Mr. Reza requested the following records for an identified address: 1. Incident report and any other reports generated. 2. 911 call(s) and communications, and any other recorded conversations between officers and civilians. 3. All police communications, including radio transmissions, calls, text messages or others, between police officers involved in the incident and subsequent investigation. 4. All video footage captured or preserved relating to the incident, including but not limited to body-worn cameras. 5. The names of all officers who responded to the call and were involved in communications, investigation, and the reports relating to it. 6. All other information about the incident that is not exempt from public disclosure. Previous appeal This request was the subject of a previous appeal. See SPR22/0716 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (April 8, 2022). The Department responded on April 13, 2022. Unsatisfied with the response, Mr. Reza petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR22/0906, 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 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

Chief Michael McLean SPR22/0906 Page 2 April 27, 2022 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. Attorney for the Norfolk Dist. v. Flatley, 419 Mass. 507, 511 (1995) (custodian has the burden of establishing the applicability of an exemption). Status of the requestor; reason for the request Please note that the reason for which a requestor seeks access to or a copy of a public record does not afford any greater right of access to the requested information than other persons in the general public. The Public Records Law does not distinguish between requestors. Access to a record pursuant to the Public Records Law rests on the content of the record and not the circumstances of the requestor. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(a); see also Bougas v. Chief of Police of ----------------------- Lexington, 371 Mass. 59, 64 (1976). Therefore, Mr. Reza’s interest in obtaining the records shall have no bearing on the public nature of the record. Where, Mr. Reza seeks the record for a court process, he may have a unique right of access to the records through statutory, regulatory, judicial or other applicable means. See Commonwealth v. Wanis, 426 Mass. 639 (1998). As such, Mr. Reza may wish to consider another means of seeking to obtain any existing responsive records. The Department’s April 13th Response In its response, the Department stated, “[t]he case in question, 21-011128 currently is scheduled for a Clerk's Hearing on July 25, 2022 at the Concord District Court.” In a conversation between a Department representative and a senior attorney, the Department confirmed that the matter is currently pending before the Concord District Court, 21-011128 and that the proceedings are related to the requested records. Pending litigation 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2)(b) provides in pertinent part: the Supervisor may deny an appeal for, among other reasons if, in the opinion of the Supervisor: 1. the public records in question are the subjects of disputes in active litigation, administrative hearings or mediation. In light of the pending matter, I decline to opine on this matter at this time. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2)(b). It should be noted that a change in the status of this action could impact the applicability of 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2)(b).

Chief Michael McLean SPR22/0906 Page 3 April 27, 2022 Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Sadiq Reza