Alt Jaye v. Canton, Town of - Police Department (SPR 20253294)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records November 24, 2025 SPR25/3294 Deputy Chief Patricia A. Sherrill Canton Police Department 1492 Washington Street Canton, MA 02021 Dear Deputy Chief Sherrill: I have received the petition of Alt Jaye appealing the response of the Canton 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 10, 2025, Alt Jaye requested the following: 1. Emails and attachments sent or received by [a named individual] and by government personnel about the investigation and prosecution of the death of [a named individual] (often referred to as the Karen Read case), including the investigation, prosecution, media inquiries, inter-agency coordination, evidence handling, and public statements. 2. The same category of emails/attachments sent or received using any non- government (personal) email accounts or devices when used to conduct public business, including messages forwarded to or from official accounts. For example, Norfolk County DA’s office recently provided a public information response that included evidence that [a named individual] used the personal email [address] to communicate with the elected Norfolk County DA[.] On September 12, 2025, Alt Jaye modified the scope of the request as follows: in an effort to simplify my request, please disregard ‘any government personnel’ and rather include any emails that were sent or received by [a named individual] using the email [a specified email address] Time frame: [e.g., January 29, 2022 - present] Alt Jaye also provided a list of search terms. 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

Deputy Chief Patricia A. Sherrill SPR25/3294 Page 2 November 24, 2025 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 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 September 24th Response In its September 24, 2025 response, the Department states the following: Please be advised that the referenced personal email account is not a Town email account and the Town does not have direct access any of the communications contained therein [sic]. The Town has conducted a review and analysis of its records for the email account, search terms, and time frame as detailed in your September 12, 2025, request supplement. The Town does not have any responsive records to your request in its possession, custody, or control. Pending 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 civil litigation, relating to the records at issue in Alt Jaye’s request, is active and ongoing in the Plymouth Superior Court. See Paul O’Keefe Individually and Personal Rep. of the Estate of John Joseph O’Keefe III, et al. vs. C&C Hospitality, LLC d/b/a C.F. McCarthy’s et al., (Plymouth Superior Court,

Deputy Chief Patricia A. Sherrill SPR25/3294 Page 3 November 24, 2025 Docket No. 2483-CV-00692) (November 19, 2025). In light of the pending matter, I decline to opine on this matter at this time. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2)(b). It should be noted 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: Alt Jaye