Andrew Quemere v. Massachusetts Port Authority (SPR 20221667)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records August 1, 2022 SPR22/1667 Christina Gibson Public Records Access Officer Massachusetts Port Authority One Harborside Drive, Suite 200S East Boston, MA 02128 Dear Ms. Gibson: I have received the petition of Andrew Quemere appealing the response of the Massachusetts Port Authority (Authority) to his request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On April 22, 2022, Mr. Quemere requested, “[a]ll MassPort Police internal affairs data submitted to the Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission; please provide the data as a spreadsheet, preferably in Excel format …” On May 6, 2022, the Authority responded. Unsatisfied with the response, Mr. Quemere petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR22/1667 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. 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

Christina Gibson SPR22/1667 Page 2 August 1, 2022 The Authority’s May 6th Response In its May 6, 2022 response, the Authority advised that it is “…in the process of locating public records responsive to your request, subject to any exception from disclosure under Mass. Gen. Laws Ch. 4, §7, cl. twenty-sixth. We will make all responsive public records available to you as soon as possible …” Based on the Authority’s response, it is unclear if the Authority 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). See G. L. c. 66, § 10(a) (records must be provided without unreasonable delay). To the extent possible, the Authority must provide responsive records on a rolling basis. As a result, I find that the Authority did not satisfy its burden in responding to this records request. Conclusion Accordingly, the Authority is ordered to provide Mr. Quemere 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, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Andrew Quemere