Daniel O'Grady v. Department of State Police (SPR 20251339)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records May 23, 2025 SPR25/1339 Allison Mondello Public Records Manager Massachusetts Department of State Police 50 Maple Street Milford, MA 01757 Dear Ms. Mondello: I have received the petition of Daniel O’Grady appealing the response of the Department of State Police (Department) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On May 5, 2025, Mr. O’Grady requested the following: The police report(s) for [an identified individual] citation . . . on 4/18/2025 at 4:37 P.M. from [an identified State Trooper] officer I.D. #. . . . and if separate the police report for [an identified individual] his passenger. I am also requesting the body cam footage for the same incident date. I would like the report (s) and copy of the body cam footage sent to this email address…” The Department provided a response on May 13, 2025 assigning the request the reference number P004808-050525. Unsatisfied with the Department’s response, Mr. O’Grady petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR25/1339, 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. 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 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

Allison Mondello SPR25/1339 Page 2 May 23, 2025 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 May 13th Response In its May 13, 2025 response, the Department stated the following: With the information provided in the request, the Department conducted a diligent search and was able to locate the following responsive record which has been made available to you in My Records Center: [1] Citation 356172AD (2) With the information provided in the request, the Department conducted a diligent search and was able to locate the following responsive videos: [1] Trooper . . . .; BWL7-025668 ; 1 Video(s) You will shortly receive an email from the Massachusetts State Police via EvidenceLibrary.com with instructions to access the responsive digital video files the Department was able to locate. Please note that the video(s) will be available for 180 days only. Current Appeal In his May 13, 2025 petition to this office, Mr. O’Grady stated, “I wish to appeal the response below from the [Department]. . . I stated I wanted the video emailed to me and they ignored my request and instead want me to sign up to some website and I can only see the video for a limited time.” Unclear Appeal 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”).

Allison Mondello SPR25/1339 Page 3 May 23, 2025 Where the Department has provided a link to a public website to access the responsive records, I find that the basis of Mr. O’Grady’s appeal is unclear. Mr. O’Grady is 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, the Department has provided the records to Mr. O’Grady via a website with instructions to access the responsive digital video files as required by 950 CMR 32.04(5)(e). This office encourages Mr. O’Grady to communicate directly with the Department should he require assistance in accessing the video files responsive to his request. If unresolved issues remain after Mr. O’Grady and the Department communicate further as described above, Mr. O’Grady may file an appeal within ninety (90) days, describing his specific objections to the Department’s response. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Conclusion Based on the above, I will now consider this administrative appeal closed. Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Daniel O’Grady