George and Jen Burden v. Lunenburg, Town of - Police Department (SPR 20251908)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records July 9, 2025 SPR25/1908 Acting Lieutenant Sean Zrate Records Access Officer Lunenburg Police Department 655 Mass Avenue Lunenburg, MA 01462 Dear Lieutenant Zrate: On July 1, 2025, this office received your petition on behalf of the Lunenburg Police Department (Department) seeking an extension of time to produce records, and relief from the obligation to produce responsive 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, I understand that the Department furnished a copy of this petition to the requestors, George and Jen Burden. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c); G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv)(2). From June 7, 2025 through July 1, 2025, Mr. and Ms. Burden submitted at least nine requests, including, among others, for “all police reports and logs” of 17 named individuals, internal affairs reports based on complaints they submitted, videos of interviews, procedures, records of complaints, call recordings, and body camera footage. Subsequent to the opening of this petition, in multiple emails to this office, Mr. and Ms. Burden objected to the Department’s petition, and the Department reiterated its request for relief for the obligation to provide records. Petitions for an Extension of Time and for Relief from the Obligation to Provide Records 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; 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

Acting Lieutenant Sean Zrate SPR25/1908 Page 2 July 9, 2025 (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) shall provide an initial response to a requestor within ten business days after receipt of a request for public records. 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4)(b). Request for Relief and Additional Time to Produce Responsive Records In its July 1, 2025 petition, the Department requests relief from the obligation to provide responsive records. The Department further requests that “if the Supervisor of Records permits these requests, I ask that they provide this department with a 30-day extension of time from the ruling date to return the responses to the Burdens.” In support of its petition, the Department argues the following: I am asking that [the Supervisor’s] office intervene with the Burden’s constant public records requests. The number of public records requests that the Burdens have submitted has become a hardship to this department, and other departments in Town. Hours and hours of energy and time are spent every day to fulfil their requests, appeals, and more requests and more appeals in a timely manner but now have become humanly impossible to do so. I am asking the Secretary of State (Public Records Division) to please intervene to relieve this department of the Burdens’ calculated constant public records requests, knowing full well the impact it is having on this department. It is not reasonable to commit one employee’s position to exclusively serve the Burdens, while ignoring the needs of the rest of the residents of Lunenburg. To allow this to continue enables this behavior and has affected other aspects of my position which include community engagement, staff supervision, and the day-to-day operations of the police department under the Chief of Police. Following further requests from Mr. and Ms. Burden, in an email to this office on July 3, 2025, the Department further argues the following:

Acting Lieutenant Sean Zrate SPR25/1908 Page 3 July 9, 2025 I am appealing the Burden’s request . . . with [the Supervisor’s] office and asking that [the Supervisor’s] office intervene with the Burden’s constant public records requests. The (growing) number of public records requests that the Burdens have submitted have become a hardship to this department and other departments in Town. . . . Based on the Department’s petition, I find that in light of the need to search for and collect the records, the capacity of the Department to produce the request without the extension, and efforts undertaken by the Department in fulfilling the current requests and previous requests, 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 30 business days. However, based on the information provided in the Department’s petition, I find that the Department has not demonstrated that the requests are frivolous and not intended for the broad dissemination of information to the public about actual or alleged government activity, as required by G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). Accordingly, I am unable to grant the Department’s request for relief from the obligation to provide responsive records. Conclusion Accordingly, I find the Department has established good cause for a time extension of 30 business days as described above. However, as noted above, I am unable to grant the Department’s request for relief from the obligation to provide records. Please note, Mr. Burden 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: George and Jen Burden