Andrew Quemere v. Barnstable, Town of - Police Department (SPR 20221342)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records June 15, 2022 SPR22/1342 Danielle L. Paradis Records/Property Supervisor Barnstable Police Department 1200 Phinney’s Lane Hyannis, MA 02601 Dear Ms. Paradis: I have received the petition of Andrew Quemere appealing the response of the Barnstable 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 May 20, 2022, Mr. Quemere requested, “[a]ll police department internal affairs data submitted to the Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission; please provide the data as a spreadsheet, preferably in Excel formal…” On June 6, 2022, the Department responded. Unsatisfied with the Department’s response, Mr. Quemere petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR22/1342, 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. Att’y 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. If there are any fees associated with a response a written, good faith estimate must be provided. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(viii); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.07(2). Once fees are paid, a records custodian must provide the responsive records. 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

Danielle L. Paradis SPR22/1342 Page 2 June 15, 2022 The Department’s June 6th Response In its June 6, 2022 response, the Department stated: Unfortunately, the Department requires additional time beyond the 10 business days allotted under the law in order to respond to this request. The difficulty of the request unduly burdens the other responsibilities of the department. In particular, the volume of existing requests makes it impossible to respond within the requisite ten (10)-business day timeframe. The Department will produce the requested records by June 27, 2022, which represents a reasonable timeframe under the law. Current Appeal In his current appeal, Mr. Quemere states: In response to my May 20 public records request, the town of Barnstable states that it cannot provide responsive records until June 27. The department claims that my request is unduly burdensome.... There is no reason the department could not have located these two spreadsheets and attached them to an email within 10 business days, and therefore the department’s assertion that it requires more time is unreasonable. Where the Department has indicated that they intend to provide a response within the allowed statutory timeframe, it is unclear the basis of Mr. Quemere’s appeal. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(vi) (records access officer may identify a reasonable timeframe in which the agency or municipality shall produce the public records sought; provided, that for an agency, the timeframe shall not exceed 15 business days following the initial receipt of the request for public records and for a municipality the timeframe shall not exceed 25 business days following the initial receipt of the request for public records; and provided further, that the requestor may voluntarily agree to a response date beyond the timeframes set forth herein). Conclusion The Department is ordered to provide a response to the request in compliance with the Public Records Law and its Regulations. If issues remain once Mr. Quemere receives the response, he may file an appeal within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1).

Danielle L. Paradis SPR22/1342 Page 3 June 15, 2022 Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Andrew Quemere