Grace Ferguson v. Lawrence, City of - Police Department (SPR 20221101)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records May 25, 2022 SPR22/1101 Lt. Paul Rossi Lawrence Police Department 90 Lowell Street Lawrence, MA 01840 Dear Lt. Rossi: I have received the petition of Grace Ferguson of WBUR appealing the nonresponse of the Lawrence Police Department (Department) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On March 28, 2022, Ms. Ferguson requested, “ … all internal affairs investigations of [named person] [and] … all other internal affairs investigations involving sexual assault or domestic violence dating back to January 1, 2020.” Claiming to not yet have received responsive records, Ms. Ferguson petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR22/1101, was opened as a result. Despite being notified of the opening of this appeal, it remains unclear whether the Department has provided a response. Accordingly, the Department is ordered to provide Ms. Ferguson with a response to her request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Access Regulations within ten (10) business days. A copy of any such response must be provided to this office. Ms. Ferguson may appeal the substantive nature of the Department’s response within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Grace Ferguson 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