Pierce Brown v. Stockbridge, Town of - Police Department (SPR 20240970)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records April 4, 2024 SPR24/0970 Kimberly Shaw Records Access Officer Stockbridge Police Department 50 Main Street Stockbridge, MA 01262 Dear Ms. Shaw: On March 29, 2024, this office received your petition on behalf of the Stockbridge Police Department (Department) seeking an extension of time to produce records. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c); G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4). As required by law, it is my understanding that the Department furnished a copy of the petition to the requestor, Pierce Brown, of Cohen Kinne Valicenti & Cook, LLP. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c); G. L.c. 66, § 10(d)(iv)(2). On March 13, 2024, Mr. Brown requested, “[a]ll available documents, communications (i.e. emails, letters, or written correspondence), phone records, incident logs, or other reports between May 2019 to present concerning [identified individuals].” Petition 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 municipality; and 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

Kimberly Shaw SPR24/0970 Page 2 April 4, 2024 (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) must 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). Current Petition In its petition, the Department requests, “an additional 30 business days to produce responsive records.” In support of its request the Department provides the following information: The request seeks emails, incident logs, and other reports that have been created by the Police Department. Many of these documents include information that is required by law to be redacted.... The responsive records contain identified individual’s social security numbers or driver’s license numbers, which are prohibited from disclosure under Massachusetts General Law, Chapter 93H. The records may also contain criminal offenders record information that must be redacted pursuant to M.G.L. c. 6, § 172. As such, each document must be carefully reviewed for such information and redacted accordingly. So far, the Department has identified a number of responsive records, many of which will need to be redacted. In light of the need to collect, segregate and examine the records, as well as the capacity of the Department to produce the records without an extension, and the scope of redaction required to prevent unlawful disclosure, the Department has established good cause to permit an extension of time. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c)(i)-(iii). The Department is granted an extension of 30 business days. Conclusion As described above, I find that the Department has established good cause for a time extension of 30 business days. Please note, Mr. Brown has the right to seek judicial review of this decision by commencing a civil action in the appropriate superior court. See G. L. c. 66, §§ 10(c), 10(d)(iv)(4), 10A(c).

Kimberly Shaw SPR24/0970 Page 3 April 4, 2024 Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Pierce Brown