Daryl Keyser v. Fall River, City of - Police Department (SPR 20252803)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records October 8, 2025 SPR25/2803 Amanda Matton Records Access Officer Fall River Police Department 685 Pleasant Street Fall River, MA 02721 Dear Ms. Matton: I have received the petition of Daryl Keyser, appealing the response of the Fall River 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. Keyser sought the following: [1] All body-worn camera (BWC) video for all officers who responded to or were present at the Cash Street Parking Lot incident in the Flint neighborhood on September 8, 2025, between 7:30 PM and 10:00 PM, including but not limited to [two identified police officers][;] [2] All in-car/dash-cam (MVARS) video from any responding FRPD units for the same time and location[;] [3] Station/booking-area video from FRPD facilities showing my custodial processing on/after September 8, 2025 (including sally port, booking desk, interview and/or breath-tests rooms, and holding areas), plus any transport-vehicle camera used[;] [4] Associated metadata and audit logs for each video (camera IDs, officer/unit assignments, file names, start/stop times, hasing/chain-of-custody records)[;] [5] Records to identify the incident: [a] Arrest reference: 25-2584-AR[;] [b] Date/time: Sept 8, 2025 8:10 PM (requesting 7:30--10:00 PM)[;] [c] Location: Cash Street Parking Lot, Flint neighborhood, Fall River, MA[;] [d] Involved officer(s): [two identified police officers][;] [e] Defendant: [an identified individual][;] [f] Court docket: 2532CR003452 The Department provided a response on September 16, September 19, September 22, and 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

Amanda Matton SPR25/2803 Page 2 October 8, 2025 September 23, 2025. Unsatisfied with the Department’s responses, Mr. Keyser petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR25/2803, 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. See 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 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. The Deparment’s Responses On September 16, 2025, the Department acknowledged receipt of Mr. Keyser’s request assigning it reference number #P007042-091625, and asked Mr. Keyser to provided a picture of his ID. On September 19, 2025, the Department stated, “I have sent the request for the body worn camera footage to the detective in charge of BWC.” On September 23, 2025, the Department explained that it was withholding the responsive records pursuant to Exemption (f) of the Public Records Law and stated, “this matter is a currently open and ongoing case…” Current Appeal In his appeal, Mr. Keyser stated, “I appeal FRPD’s denial dated 9/23/2025 to my 9/16/2025 request…FRPD issued a one-sentence Exemption (f) denial referencing only that ‘the report’ cannot be released…”

Amanda Matton SPR25/2803 Page 3 October 8, 2025 Active Litigation 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2)(b) provides in pertinent part: the Supervisor may deny an appeal for, among other reasons if, in the opinion of the Supervisor: 1. the public records in question are the subjects of disputes in active litigation, administrative hearings or mediation. This office has reviewed the trial court’s docket and verified that the requested records are the subject of active and ongoing litigation in the Fall River District Court. See Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. Daryl Keyser, (Docket No. 2532-CR-003452). In light of the active litigation, I decline to opine on the matter at this time. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2)(b). Please note that a change in the status of this action could impact the applicability of 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2)(b). Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Daryl Keyser