Vijay Fisch v. Boston, City of - Police Department (SPR 20242953)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records November 13, 2024 SPR24/2953 Shawn A. Williams, Esq. Director of Public Records City of Boston One City Hall Square Boston, MA 02201 Dear Attorney Williams: I have received the petition of Vijay Fisch, of BU SPARK, appealing the response of the Boston 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 August 9, 2024, Mr. Fisch requested: . . .one-or-more spreadsheets containing the Time and Labor Reports and Overtime Reports for special events and non-detail non-court records for all Boston Police Department employees from January 2020 through present. Please include the following field of information: City of Boston Employee ID (6 digit ID); Employee first name; Employee last name; Employee middle name; Badge Number; Rank; District/Taskforce; Assigned; Assigned Description; Charged; Charged Description; Overtime Date; Overtime Code; Description; Start Time; End Time; Overtime Hours; Description Time [and] Type[.] On August 13, 2024, the Department acknowledged the request and assigned a Reference Number B002373-081324 for tracking purposes. On August 28, 2024, the Department provided a response. Unsatisfied with the Department’s response, Mr. Fisch petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR24/2953, 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). 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

Shawn A. Williams, Esq. SPR24/2953 Page 2 November 13, 2024 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. Attorney 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. The Department’s August 28th response In its August 28, 2024 response to Mr. Fisch, the Department stated, “[d]ue to the nature of your request additional time is needed. As such, the [Department] will need up to, but no more than, fifteen (15) additional business days to review and process your request.” Current Appeal In his October 29, 2024 petition, Mr. Fisch indicates, “…On 8/13, I received correspondence saying, [t]hank you for your interest in public records of [the Department]. Your request has been received and is being processed. Your request was received on 8/13/2024 10:37:30 PM and given the [R]eference [N]umber B002373-081324 for tracking purposes. I have not received any notifications since, and it has far exceeded 2 months…” Timeliness in providing records G. L. c. 66, § 10(b) provides, in pertinent part, that if the magnitude or difficulty of the request unduly burdens the other responsibilities of the agency or municipality such that the agency or municipality cannot provide records within 10 business days, the agency or municipality must inform the requestor in writing within 10 business days. With respect to the timeframe to produce responsive records, the written response shall: 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. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(vi). Where Mr. Fisch submitted the request on August 9, 2024, and the Department has not provided the responsive records, nor cited an exemption for withholding records, I find the Department has not met its burden in responding to the request in accordance with G. L c. 66, §

Shawn A. Williams, Esq. SPR24/2953 Page 3 November 13, 2024 10(b). Consequently, the Department must provide an estimated date as to when it intends to complete the search and provide the responsive records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(a) (records must be provided without unreasonable delay). To the extent possible, the Department must provide responsive records on a rolling basis. Conclusion Accordingly, the Department is ordered to provide Mr. Fisch with a response to his request provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law, and its Regulations within ten (10) business days. A copy of any such response must be provided to this office. It is preferable to send an electronic copy of the response to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us. Mr. Fisch may appeal the substantive nature of the Department’s response within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Vijay Fisch