Douglass, Joe v. Southbridge, Town of - Police Department (SPR 20260780)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records March 19, 2026 SPR26/0780 Gerald Arvelo Records Access Officer Southbridge Police Department 1 Mechanic Street Southbridge, MA 01550 Dear Officer Arvelo: I have received the petition of Joe Douglass appealing the response of the Southbridge 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 23, 2026, Mr. Douglass made the following request: …I request copies of public records held by the Southbridge Police Department relating to sustained misconduct matters reflected in Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission (POST) records for [an identified officer]. For each matter listed below, please produce the internal affairs/investigative file and final disposition records, including, where they exist: complaint/intake materials; assignment documents; investigative reports and attachments; interview summaries or transcripts; findings and decision memos; notices of discipline; suspension/demotion letters; retraining orders; and any arbitration/settlement documents that modified discipline. Please also include any “last-chance agreement” or comparable agreement, where applicable, and any records reflecting whether the matter was referred to an outside agency or prosecutor… Records requested (Southbridge PD), as reflected in POST entries: [1] Sept. 20, 2010 incident – sustained matter involving unauthorized use of emergency blue lights to pass a school bus with flashing lights, with the entry indicating the incident ended with a cruiser-involved accident; discipline reflected in POST as a two-day suspension. [2] Jan. 18, 2014 incident – sustained matters related to a pursuit in a federally assigned (DEA) unmarked vehicle, endangerment, and multiple motor vehicle 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

Gerald Arvelo SPR26/0780 Page 2 March 19, 2026 infractions; discipline reflected in POST includes demotion and a written reprimand and removal from a detective assignment. [3] Dec. 18, 2017 incident – sustained matter described in POST as “improper business,” involving the knowing use of another person’s barber license to conduct business; discipline reflected in POST includes a five-day suspension and a last-chance agreement. [4] Aug. 18, 2020 matter – sustained entry reflected in POST as “other form of untruthfulness,” with the entry describing the officer as “unfit for duty/danger to public,” and describing allegations that the victim was attacked/assaulted after the officer told the assailant to “go handle that, go fix it … subsequently causing the attack/disturbance and placing the victim in danger.” The POST entry also indicates Southbridge placed him on administrative leave and that he resigned and transferred to another department before discipline was imposed, and notes a last- chance agreement. For the above matters, please also include (to the extent maintained by Southbridge PD and not duplicative of the IA file): any incident/offense reports and supplemental reports; dispatch/CAD logs; motor-vehicle crash reports and related documents; citations/criminal applications/charging documents; tow/impound records; and any correspondence with a prosecutor or outside agency related to the same incidents. In addition, for the Aug. 18, 2020 matter, please include any records documenting the administrative leave decision, resignation/separation, any proposed discipline or draft discipline, and any communications or agreements concerning separation/transfer (including any settlement or non-disciplinary separation agreement, if one exists)… The Department responded on February 9, 2026 and March 5, 2026, providing a fee estimate. Unsatisfied with the Department’s responses, Mr. Douglass petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR26/0780, 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.

Gerald Arvelo SPR26/0780 Page 3 March 19, 2026 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. Fee Estimates – Municipalities A municipality may assess a reasonable fee for the production of a public record except those records that are freely available for public inspection. G. L. c. 66, § 10(d). The fees must reflect the actual cost of complying with a particular request. Id. A maximum fee of five cents ($.05) per page may be assessed for a black and white single or double-sided photocopy of a public record. G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(i). Municipalities may not assess a fee for the first 2 (two) hours of employee time to search for, compile, segregate, redact or reproduce the record or records requested unless the municipality has 20,000 people or less. G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iii). Where appropriate, municipalities may include as part of the fee an hourly rate equal to or less than the hourly rate attributed to the lowest paid employee who has the necessary skill required to search for, compile, segregate, redact or reproduce a record requested, but the fee shall not be more than $25 per hour. Id. However, municipalities may charge more than $25 per hour if such rate is approved by the Supervisor of Records under a petition under G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv). A fee shall not be assessed for time spent segregating or redacting records unless such segregation or redaction is required by law or approved by the Supervisor of Records under a petition under G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv). See G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iii); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4). The Department’s February 9th and March 5th Responses In its February 9, 2026 response, the Department acknowledged receipt of the request and stated, “[y]ou will be receiving an email shortly containing a good faith estimate and breakdown for the fulfillment of your request.” In its March 5, 2026 response, the Department provided records responsive to Items 1 and 2 of the request and stated, “…apologies for the delay in this request as I had not received a reply to my email regarding the fee estimate.” In addition, the Department provided a fee estimate of $200.00 to produce records responsive to Items 3 and 4. In support of its fee estimate, the Department provided the following information:

Gerald Arvelo SPR26/0780 Page 4 March 19, 2026 As you may be aware the last two remaining parts require extensive search and possible redactions. At this point it is estimated that total fee for the processing of this request will be approximate 6 hours… In order to comply with your request, the total reasonable fee of $200 will be charged…The total fee has been calculated as follows: Since the requested records are not available in electronic format or you have requested that the records be provided to you other than electronically, and the records are not susceptible to ordinary means of reproduction the Department has assessed the following Segregation & Redaction Costs: The Department is required to devote more than 2 hours of time to search for, compile, segregate, redact and/or reproduce the requested records and the segregation or redaction of records is required by law. The lowest paid employee who has the necessary skill to complete the segregation and redaction [an identified officer] whose hourly rate is $38.69. This person is the lowest paid employee capable of completing the segregation and redaction because personnel files are considered sensitive information thus access is restricted. The segregation and redaction costs have been calculated using the hourly rate of $25. In order to comply with your request, it will take approximately 8 hours of segregation and redaction time, based upon the following: The incident in question involves several separate investigations over a span of several years. Each of these incidents need to be individually reviewed for any information that would be considered exempt from public records including but not limited to sensitive/personal information including any minors etc. Any information that falls under exemptions would then require segregation/redaction to be performed on each incident to be in compliance with public record law. The total number of hours charged will be 8. Current Appeal In his appeal petition, Mr. Douglass stated, “I am appealing the department’s March 5, 2026, estimate of $200… on the grounds that it is excessive, unjustified, and serves as a deterrent to public-interest journalism.” G. L. c. 66, § 10(e) Please be advised, G. L. c. 66, § 10(e) provides that “[a] records access officer shall not charge a fee for a public record unless the records access officer responded to the requestor within 10 business days under [G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)].” It is unclear if the Department’s response met all the requirements under G. L. c. 66, § 10(b) to assess a fee for the requested records. Pursuant to the law, the written response must be

Gerald Arvelo SPR26/0780 Page 5 March 19, 2026 not later than 10 business days after the initial receipt of the request for public records, made via first class or electronic mail and must: (i) confirm receipt of the request; (ii) identify any public records or categories of public records sought that are not within the possession, custody, or control of the agency or municipality that the records access officer serves; (iii) identify the agency or municipality that may be in possession, custody or control of the public record sought, if known; (iv) 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, provided that nothing in the written response shall limit an agency’s or municipality’s ability to redact or withhold information in accordance with state or federal law; (v) identify any public records, categories of records, or portions of records that the agency or municipality intends to produce, and provide a detailed statement describing why the magnitude or difficulty of the request unduly burdens the other responsibilities of the agency or municipality and therefore requires additional time to produce the public records sought; (vi) identify a reasonable timeframe in which the agency or municipality shall produce the public records sought; provided, that for an agency, the timeframe shall not exceed 15 business days following the initial receipt of the request for public records and for a municipality the timeframe shall not exceed 25 business days following the initial receipt of the request for public records; and provided further, that the requestor may voluntarily agree to a response date beyond the timeframes set forth herein; (vii) suggest a reasonable modification of the scope of the request or offer to assist the requestor to modify the scope of the request if doing so would enable the agency or municipality to produce records sought more efficiently and affordably; (viii) include an itemized, good faith estimate of any fees that may be charged to produce the records; and (ix) include a statement informing the requestor of the right of appeal to the supervisor of records under subsection (a) of section 10A and the right to seek judicial review of an unfavorable decision by commencing a civil action in the superior court under subsection (c) of section 10A. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b). The Department is advised, in order to assess a fee for the requested records, it must demonstrate it provided a response in compliance with G. L. c. 66, § 10(b). Specifically, the Department must clarify how its February 9th response comports with the requirements of G. L. c. 66, § 10(b).

Gerald Arvelo SPR26/0780 Page 6 March 19, 2026 Conclusion Accordingly, the Department is ordered to provide Mr. Douglass with a response to the request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations within ten (10) 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. Douglass may appeal the substantive nature of the Department’s response within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Joe Douglass