Daniel Narreau v. Palmer, Town of - Police Department (SPR 20250175)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records January 30, 2025 SPR25/0175 Chief Christopher Burns Police Chief Palmer Police Department 4419 Main Street Palmer, MA 01069 Dear Chief Burns: I have received the petition of Daniel Narreau appealing the response of the Palmer 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 November 10, 2024, Mr. Narreau requested: … police log entries, police reports, call logs, notes, narratives, any and all communications that involve [a named individual] contacting the Palmer Police Department from January 1, 2024 to present date. Regarding property / alleged tenant issues at 4033-4035 Church Street, aka- 4035 Church Street, aka,- 4035 Church Street Unit #2. Any and all records from Palmer Police relating to [three named individuals] from the same party. The Department responded on November 27, 2024 and January 8, 2025. Unsatisfied with the Department’s response, Mr. Narreau appealed, and this case, SPR25/0175, 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. 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

Chief Christopher Burns SPR25/0175 Page 2 January 30, 2025 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. 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 November 27th and January 8th Responses In its November 27, 2024 response, the Department provided a record responsive to the request. In the Department’s January 8, 2025 response, it states, “the department has since discovered the records you are requesting are very time consuming and involve many hours of work. This being said the department is in the process of determining a cost associated in with receiving these records. This quote will be provided no later [than] the end of next week.” Current Appeal In his appeal, Mr. Narreau states, “[w]e have given the Department more than ample time to respond, [t]o date, [w]e have not received a completed request.” 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. Narreau submitted his request on November 10, 2024, and the Department has not provided the responsive records, I find the Department has not met its burden in responding to the request in accordance with G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(vi). Consequently, I find the

Chief Christopher Burns SPR25/0175 Page 3 January 30, 2025 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). Conclusion Accordingly, the Department is ordered to provide Mr. Narreau with a response to his request, provided 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 the response to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us. Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Daniel Narreau