Blankenship, Shawn v. North Brookfield Police Department (SPR 20260551)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records March 3, 2026 SPR26/0551 Chief Ryan Daley North Brookfield Police Department 55 School Street North Brookfield, MA 01535 Dear Chief Daley: I have received the petition of Shawn Blankenship appealing the response of the North Brookfield 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 January 20, 2026, Mr. Blankenship requested “[d]ates of all inspections conducted at [an identified address] for the last 5 years and names of each inspector.” The Department responded on February 3, 2026. Unsatisfied with the response, Mr. Blankenship petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR26/0551, 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 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 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

Chief Ryan Daley SPR26/0551 Page 2 March 3, 2026 custodian must provide the responsive records. The Department’s February 3rd Response In its February 3, 2026 response, the Department stated that, “[a]ttached please find all of the inspections performed in the last 5 years at [an identified address]. The inspectors involved are [four identified individuals].” Current Appeal In his appeal, Mr. Blankenship contends, “[p]rovided inspection reports and did not provide any information of who made complaints and is again conspiring to protect actors who are retaliating and conspiring to harass us and making reports and false reports.” Unclear Appeal Based on the foregoing, where the Department has provided the records responsive to the request, I find that the basis of Mr. Blankenship’s appeal is unclear. Mr. Blankenship 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 request was for “[d]ates of all inspections conducted at [an identified address] for the last 5 years and names of each inspector.” The Department provided the requested records. Mr. Blankenship may wish to make a new request for details identified in his appeal. Conclusion Based on the above, I will now consider this administrative appeal closed. Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Shawn Blankenship