Grace Ferguson v. Middlesex County Sheriff's Office (SPR 20220917)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records April 27, 2022 SPR22/0917 Malav Patel, Esq. Associate Legal Counsel Middlesex County Sheriff’s Office 400 Mystic Avenue, 4th Floor Medford, MA 02155 Dear Attorney Patel: I have received the petition of Grace Ferguson, a WBUR Fellow, appealing the nonresponse of the Middlesex County Sheriff’s Office (Office) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On March 28, 2022, Ms. Ferguson requested records from January 1, 2010 to the present; specifically: “[a]ll internal affairs cases of domestic violence, and [a]ll internal affairs cases of sexual violence, including but not limited to rape and sexual assault.” After not receiving a response, on April 19, 2022, Ms. Ferguson petitioned the Supervisor of Records, and this appeal was opened. Despite being notified of the request and this appeal, the Office has neither provided a response to Ms. Ferguson nor this office pertaining to Ms. Ferguson’s request. Accordingly, the Office is ordered to provide Ms. Ferguson with a response to the request, in a manner consistent with 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. Ms. Ferguson may appeal the substantive nature of the response within 90 calendar days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Grace Ferguson, WBUR Fellow 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