Gretchen Lundgren v. Weymouth, Town of - Police Department (SPR 20243121)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records November 20, 2024 SPR24/3121 Richard Abbadessa Police Captain Weymouth Police Department 140 Winter Street Weymouth, MA 02188 Dear Captain Abbadessa: On November 18, 2024, this office received your petition on behalf of the Weymouth 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, Gretchen Lundgren. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c); G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv)(2). On October 28, 2024, Ms. Lundgren requested, “all incident reports, narrative reports, call logs, dispatch logs, CAD reports, license premise violations, citations, ordinance violations and recorded calls for police and/or emergency services at Cathay Center Restaurant located at 211 Bridge Street, Weymouth, MA 02191 from 01/01/2021 through present.” 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 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

Captain Richard Abbadessa SPR24/3121 Page 2 November 20, 2024 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) 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, “a single extension of up to 20 business days.” In support of its request the Department provides the following information: We cannot complete the request with 15 business days following our initial receipt because the request unduly burdens the other responsibilities of our department due to the magnitude of the request. To fulfill this records request, we must search, review, and redact four years of call logs and/or reports. This will involve research into approximately 350 calls for service and all call logs and/or reports associated with each. Moreover, our Records Department is currently staffed by two employees, one of whom was out November 12, 2024 through November 15, 2024 for scheduled vacation time. 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 efforts undertaken by the Department in fulfilling the current request, the Department has established good cause to permit an extension of time. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c)(i)-(iv). The Department is granted an extension of 20 business days. Conclusion As described above, I find that the Department has established good cause for a time extension of 20 business days. Please note, Ms. Lundgren 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).

Captain Richard Abbadessa SPR24/3121 Page 3 November 20, 2024 Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Gretchen Lundgren