Landais, Samuel v. Boston, City of - Police Department (SPR 20260832)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records March 20, 2026 SPR26/0832 Christine O’Donnell, Esq. Records Access Officer Boston Police Department 1 City Hall Square Boston, MA 02201 Dear Attorney O’Donnell: I have received the petition of Samuel Landais appealing the response of the Boston 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 November 27, 2025, Mr. Landais requested “…BWC footage from Officers ... on 9/24/2022 between 8:30 am to 11:00 am as it relates to their response to ... Floyd St that day. [An identified Sergeant] was able to show me a copy of the incident report in the days following. I would also like a copy of that.” Previous Appeals This request was the subject of previous appeals. See SPR25/3762 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (December 31, 2025); SPR26/0074 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (January 22, 2026); and SPR26/0231 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (February 4, 2026). In my February 4th determination, I ordered the Department to clarify whether it possessed additional responsive records. Specifically, whether the Department possessed an incident report responsive to Mr. Landais’ request. The Department responded on February 4, 2026. Unsatisfied with the Department’s response, Mr. Landais petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR26/0832, 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). 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

Christine O’Donnell, Esq. SPR26/0832 Page 2 March 20, 2026 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 Department’s February 4th Response In its February 4, 2026 response, the Department stated, “[w]ith regard to the incident report, the Supervisor stated that it was unclear whether the Department possesses additional responsive records. The Department conducted a search of its database of incident reports. An incident report dated September 24, 2022 for . . . Floyd St. could not be located. The Department has no additional records responsive to this request.” Current Appeal In his March 9, 2026 appeal to this office, Mr. Landais objected to the Department’s response, stating, “[t]his report has been the subject of multiple records requests. In a request…submitted in July of 2025, the department acknowledged having this report, even giving the details about the report (“This is a walk-in report…”)[.] Despite this, the department made the decision to withhold the incident report, and moved to close this request…” No Duty to Create Records – Incident Report Please be advised, under the Public Records Law, a custodian is not required to create a record in response to a public records request. See G. L. c. 66, § 6A(d). In addition, a public employee is not required to answer questions, or do research, or create documents in response to questions. See 32 Op. Att’y Gen. 157, 165 (May 18, 1977). The duty to comply with requests for records extends to those records that exist and are in the possession, custody, or control of the custodian of records at the time of the request. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(a)(ii). Conclusion Given that the Department has confirmed that it does not possess an incident report responsive to Mr. Landais’ request and this office has no authority to compel the Department to create records, I will now consider this administrative appeal closed. If Mr. Landais is not satisfied with the resolution of this administrative appeal, please be advised that this office shares jurisdiction with the Superior Court of the Commonwealth. See G. L. c. 66, §§ 10(b)(ix), 10A(c) (pursuing administrative appeal does not limit availability of judicial remedies).

Christine O’Donnell, Esq. SPR26/0832 Page 3 March 20, 2026 Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Samuel Landais