Michael Saccone v. Stoughton, Town of - Police Department (SPR 20252742)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records September 29, 2025 SPR25/2742 Jill Russell Records Access Officer Stoughton Police Department 26 Rose Street Stoughton, MA 02072 Dear Ms. Russell: I have received the petition of Michael Saccone appealing the response of the Stoughton 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 September 16, 2025, Mr. Saccone requested the following related “to a reported failure to stop that occurred on December 13, 2020 at approximately 15:45”: [1] All incident reports, arrest reports, or narrative reports created in connection with this incident[;] [2] Any and all dash camera footage from patrol vehicles related to the incident[;] [3] Any and all officer body-worn camera footage related to the incident[;] [4] Any Stoughton Police Department pursuit policies effective December 13, 2020[.] The Department responded on September 17, 2025. Unsatisfied with the responses, Mr. Saccone petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR25/2742, 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

Jill Russell SPR25/2742 Page 2 September 29, 2025 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 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. See 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. Status of the Requestor; Reason for the Request Please note that the reason for which a requestor seeks access to or a copy of a public record does not afford any greater right of access to the requested information than other persons in the general public. The Public Records Law does not distinguish between requestors. Access to a record pursuant to the Public Records Law rests on the content of the record and not the circumstances of the requestor. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(a); see also Bougas v. Chief of Police of Lexington, 371 Mass. 59, 64 (1976). Accordingly, Mr. Saccone’s purpose in making the request has no bearing on the public status of any existing responsive records. The Department’s September 17th Responses On September 17, 2025, the Department provided “the log entry for th[e] request.” In several subsequent September 17, 2025 email communications to Mr. Saccone, the Department stated: It appears that your company/business request for these reports are for commercial purposes. In the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, such commercial records requests are exempt and as such you and your company/business are not entitled to such information… If you could be more specific your purpose for this request this might help. If you can provide a signed release form from the party involved, that would also be helpful. We do not have dash cameras & at that time we did not have body worn cameras either. For any policy information, that would have to come from a supervisor. I do not have the information… I will have to forward this to my direct Supervisor … Be advised he is out of the office until Monday, September 22. Current Appeal In his September 17, 2025 appeal to this office, Mr. Saccone stated, “[i]nstead of providing records, confirming that no such records exist, or citing a lawful exemption, I was told

Jill Russell SPR25/2742 Page 3 September 29, 2025 that I must explain the ‘purpose’ of my request, that the request was for ‘commercial’ or ‘business’ purpose, and that I must provide a signed release form from the ‘party involved.’ I respectfully request that you order the Stoughton Police Department to comply with the Public Records Law by producing the requested records or, if it intends to withhold any portion, by issuing a proper response…” The Department’s response did not contain the specificity required in a denial of access to public records. The Department must either provide the requested records or cite an exemption to the Public Records Law and explain with specificity how such an exemption applies to withhold or redact the records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(iv) (a written response must “identify any records, categories of records or portions of records that the agency or municipality intends to withhold, and provide the specific reasons for such withholding, including the specific exemption or exemptions upon which the withholding is based”). Conclusion Accordingly, the Department is ordered to provide Mr. Saccone 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. Mr. Saccone may appeal the substantive nature of the Department’s response within ninety days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Michael Saccone Lieutenant Thomas Hansler