Joshua Dankoff v. Everett, City of - Solicitor's Office (SPR 20220961)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records May 2, 2022 SPR22/0961 Colleen M. Mejia, Esq. City Solicitor City of Everett 484 Broadway, Room 21 Everett, MA 02149 Dear Attorney Mejia: I have received your petition on behalf of the Everett Police Department (Department) seeking an extension of time to produce records. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). As required by law, it is my understanding that the Department furnished a copy of this petition to the requestor, Joshua Dankoff of Citizens for Juvenile Justice. Id. In a letter dated September 21, 2021, Mr. Dankoff requested numerous records concerning a gang database, school policing, and stop and frisk data for a certain period of time. Petition for an Extension of Time Under the Public Records Law, upon a showing of good cause, the Supervisor of Records (Supervisor) may grant a single extension to an agency not to exceed 20 business days and a single extension to a municipality not to exceed 30 business days. In determining whether there has been a showing of good cause, the Supervisor shall consider, but shall not be limited to considering: (i) the need to search for, collect, segregate or examine records; (ii) the scope of redaction required to prevent unlawful disclosure; (iii) the capacity or the normal business hours of operation of the agency or municipality to produce the request without the extension; (iv) efforts undertaken by the agency or municipality in fulfilling the current request and previous requests; (v) whether the request, either individually or as part of a series of requests from the same requestor, is frivolous or intended to harass or intimidate the agency or municipality; and (vi) the public interest served by expeditious disclosure. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). 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

Colleen M. Mejia, Esq. SPR22/0961 Page 2 May 2, 2022 If the Supervisor determines that the request is part of a series of contemporaneous requests that are frivolous or designed to intimidate or harass, and the requests are not intended for the broad dissemination of information to the public about actual or alleged government activity, the Supervisor may grant a longer extension or relieve the agency or municipality of its obligation to provide copies of the records sought. Id. The filing of a petition does not affect the requirement that a Records Access Officer (RAO) must provide an initial response to a requestor within ten business days after receipt of a request for public records. 950 C.M.R. 36.06(4)(b). Current Petition In its petition dated April 25, 2022, the Department “…requests an extension of time in order to be able to respond accordingly.” The Department notes, “[t]he records custodian, Captain Scott Stallbaum of the Everett Police Department, advised the requestor that the 6 years’ worth of emails would take thousands of hours to comb through in order to retrieve responsive documents.” In an email to this office dated May 2, 2022, Captain Stallbaum states, “I have been able to lower the number of emails to approximately 25,000 that will need to be reviewed. I estimate it will take us approximately 6 to 12 months to review and redact the emails.” Conclusion I find in light of the volume of records, the efforts already undertaken by the Department to provide responsive records, as well as the capacity of the Department to produce the request without an extension, the Department has established good cause to permit an extension of time. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c)(i)-(ii). I hereby grant the Department an extension of 30 business days to furnish copies of records responsive to Mr. Dankoff’s request. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). To the extent possible, the Department must provide responsive records on a rolling basis. Further, this office encourages Mr. Dankoff and the Department continue to communicate to facilitate providing records more efficiently and affordably. Please note, Mr. Dankoff has the right to seek judicial review of this decision by commencing a civil action in the appropriate superior court. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv)(4),10A(c).

Colleen M. Mejia, Esq. SPR22/0961 Page 3 May 2, 2022 Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Joshua Dankoff