Jen Herrman v. Greenfield, City of - Police Department (SPR 20222426)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records November 1, 2022 SPR22/2426 Gillian Halkett Records Access Officer Greenfield Police Department 321 High Street Greenfield, MA 01301 Dear Ms. Halkett: I have received your petition on behalf of the Greenfield Police Department (Department) seeking relief from its obligation to produce responsive records or, in the alternative, 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, Jennifer Herrman. Id. In a request dated September 20, 2022, Ms. Herrmann requested “documents related to Greenfield Police Department internal affairs investigation on [an identified individual]” including “[t]racking document listing all complaints, investigations, and dispositions since June 1, 2019” and “[a]ll documentation of internal affairs investigations, including reports, interviews, conclusions, recommendations, and results since June 1, 2019.” Petitions 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 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

Gillian Halkett SPR22/2426 Page 2 November 1, 2022 municipality; and (vi) the public interest served by expeditious disclosure. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). 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) shall 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). In an email to this office on October 25, 2022, Ms. Herrmann states, “I have received an email on this. I am happy to accept the request of an extension.” Conclusion In light of this communication, it is unnecessary to opine on the Department’s petition at this time. Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Jennifer Herrmann