Thomas Butters v. Cambridge, City of - Office of the City Clerk (SPR 20250249)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records February 3, 2025 SPR25/0249 Seah Levy Records Access Officer Office of the City Solicitor City of Cambridge 795 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02139 Dear Ms. Levy: On January 27, 2025, this office received your petition on behalf of the City of Cambridge (City) seeking an extension of time to produce records. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). As required by law, it is my understanding that the City furnished a copy of the petition to the requestor, Attorney Thomas J. Butters, of Butters Brazilian, LLP. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c); G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv)(2). On January 7, 2025, Attorney Butters requested: ..[a]ll records, reports, notes, recordings, photographs, subpoenas and correspondence in any form to include written or typed reports in paper form or digital form (including P-650 reports), phone call history, voicemails, cell-phone call history, cell phone voicemails, SMS text messages, iMessages, e-mail messages, teletype messages, video messages, electronic messages transmitted in third party applications either on a mobile device or a computer terminal, handwritten letters and notes, Cambridge Police Department dispatch recordings maintained by the Emergency Communications section, Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) service slips/notes, handwritten correspondence, video recordings and audio recordings of verbal communications made by and or between City of Cambridge personnel and/or by and between external local/state/federal law enforcement and judicial agencies, and/or any other third party that has contributed to and/or communicated with the Cambridge Police Department regarding the investigation into File# 18-8447. 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 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

Seah Levy SPR25/0249 Page 2 February 3, 2025 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 (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 City requests “40 business days, and potentially additional days, to respond to the attached public records request from Attorney Thomas Butters” and provides the following information in support of its request: [T]he records for this response are likely to include information such as, but not limited to, Criminal Offender Record Information, Criminal Justice Information Services Records, reporting witness information and victim information. The City anticipates that it will need to redact a substantial number of 911 calls, police radio audio, video surveillance footage, and photo arrays, as well as reports and notes from police officers involved in the incident, investigation, and criminal case. [T]his request will require the Public Records Access Officers as well as other officers and staff members to devote a substantial amount of time to a single public records request, to the detriment of other requesters, as well as the day-to- day duties of various staff members and their departments.

Seah Levy SPR25/0249 Page 3 February 3, 2025 In light of the need to collect, segregate and examine the records, as well as the capacity of the City to produce the records without an extension, the City has established good cause to permit an extension of time. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c)(i)-(iii). The City is granted an extension of 30 business days. Conclusion As described above, I find that the City has established good cause for a time extension of 30 business days. Please note, Attorney Butters 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). Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Thomas J. Butters, Esq.