Ryan Kath v. Massachusetts State Police (SPR 20221029)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records May 16, 2022 SPR22/1029 Allison Mondello Primary RAO Office of the Chief Legal Counsel Massachusetts State Police 470 Worcester Road Framingham, MA 01702 Dear Ms. Mondello: I have received a petition from Ryan Kath of NBC Boston appealing the response of the 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). On March 22, 2022, Mr. Kath requested, “…all available records for a 3-vehicle crash on [identified date] … along Rt 24 North (near on-ramp from 495) [including] … all 911 calls, photos, videos and copies of motor vehicle citations.” The Department responded on April 13, 2022. Unsatisfied with the response, Mr. Kath petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR22/1029, 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 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). To meet the specificity requirement a custodian must not only cite an exemption, but must also state why the exemption applies to the withheld or redacted portion of the responsive record. 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

Allison Mondello SPR22/1029 Page 2 May 16, 2022 The Department’s April 13th response In its April 13th response, the Department indicated it was working on the request and sought clarification on the names of the involved parties and the municipality where the incident occurred. Current appeal In his appeal, Mr. Kath states, “[o]n April 13, [the Department] … responded to me and asked for additional details about the crash. I provided the requested info on the same day. [The Department] told me that [it] would try to have a response by April 15 … Since then, I have called and emailed a number of times, but received no further update.” Based on the Department’s response, it is unclear if the Department possesses any records responsive to the request. The duty to comply with requests for records extends to those records that exist and are in the possession, custody, or control of the custodian of records at the time of the request. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(a)(ii). Custodians are expected to use their superior knowledge of the records in their custody to assist requestors in obtaining the desired information. See 950 C.M.R. 32.04(5). Order Accordingly, the Department is ordered to provide Mr. Kath with a response to the request in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law, and its Regulations within ten 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: Ryan Kath