George and Jen Burden v. Lunenburg, Town of - Police Department (SPR 20251170)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records May 9, 2025 SPR25/1170 Lieutenant Sean Zrate Lunenburg Police Department 655 Massachusetts Avenue Lunenburg, MA 01462 Dear Lieutenant Zrate: I have received the petition of George and Jennifer Burden appealing the response of the Lunenburg 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 March 24, 2025, Mr. and Ms. Burden requested “any and all records related to a ‘downed horse’ on a farm in the general vicinity of Flat Hill Road that [an identified individual] responded to on or between March 10, 2025 or March 17, 2025.” The Department provided a response on March 25, 2025. Unsatisfied with the response, Mr. and Ms. Burden petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR25/1170, 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. 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 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

Lieutenant Sean Zrate SPR25/1170 Page 2 May 9, 2025 custodian must provide the responsive records. Current Appeal In their appeal to this office, Mr. and Ms. Burden state, “[w]e would like to appeal Mr. Zrate’s response to our public records request. We have been unable to obtain the 2 video files he indicated have been ‘burned’ to a DVD+R. We request these files to be placed on a cloud location for retrieval or placed on a USB drive and sent. Also, we have been unable to find reference in a police log entry located on the Town of Lunenburg’s website Police Logs | Lunenburg, MA as Zrate has told us we would find the records requested.” The Department’s March 25th Response In its March 25, 2025 response, the Department states, “[w]e were able to find a record matching the criteria of ‘any and all records related to a ‘downed horse’ … These records are in the form of a police log entry that can be located on the Town of Lunenburg’s website. I have provided a link to make this easier for you. … At your request for ‘any and all records’ I have provided (2) redacted body camera videos of this incident which were too large to attach to this email and have been burned to a DVD+R for you to pick up at the police station.” Please be advised that it is permissible for the custodian of records to provide access to records via a link to a website. See G. L. c. 66, §6A(d) (“If the public record requested is available on a public website ... the records access officer may furnish the public record by providing reasonable assistance in locating the requested record on the public website.”); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.04 (5)(e) (“A records access officer shall ... to the extent feasible, furnish the public records by providing reasonable assistance in locating the records on an appropriately indexed and searchable public website”); 950 C.M.R. 32.07 (2)(a) (“A records access officer shall inform a requester of the availability of records online to avoid delays and fees associated with the provision of public records”). The duty to comply with requests for records extends to those records that exist and are in the possession, custody, or control of the custodian of records at the time of the request. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(a)(ii). Additionally, under the Public Records Law, a public employee is not required to answer questions, or do research, or create documents in response to questions. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(a); 32 Op. Att’y Gen. 157, 165 (May 18, 1977). However, custodians are expected to use their superior knowledge of the records in their custody to assist requestors in obtaining the desired information. See 950 C.M.R. 32.04(5). Based on the Department’s response providing a link to the Town’s website, and Mr. and Ms. Burden’s appeal, I find that the Department must provide reasonable assistance in locating the record. Where the Department offered records on a burned DVD+R at the police station, the basis of Mr. and Ms. Burden’s appeal with respect to the responsive body camera footage is

Lieutenant Sean Zrate SPR25/1170 Page 3 May 9, 2025 unclear. Mr. and Ms. Burden are advised that all petitions for appeal “shall specifically describe the nature of the requestor’s objections to the response or failure to timely respond.” 950 C.M.R. 32.08(l)(f). In this case, where the Department has indicated that is has responsive records “burned to a DVD+R for you to pick up at the police station,” Mr. and Ms. Burden’s request to receive the records “on a cloud location for retrieval or placed on a USB drive and sent,” is unclear. This office encourages Mr. and Ms. Burden to communicate directly with the Department in order to arrange receipt of the records responsive to their request. Mr. and Ms. Burden may then describe their specific objections to the Department’s response. Conclusion Accordingly, the Department is ordered to provide Mr. and Ms. Burden with a response to the request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations within 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. Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: George and Jennifer Burden