Blankenship, Shawn v. North Brookfield Police Department (SPR 20260847)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records March 23, 2026 SPR26/0847 Ryan P. Daley Chief of Police 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 February 15, 2026, Mr. Blankenship requested the following “for the date of February 15”: [1] All call numbers from 5 pm to 6 pm[;] [2] All lobby camera footage and outside camera footage all cameras[;] [3] All body cam footage of all officers on duty[;] [4] Reason for [an identified individual] being in police department[;] [5] Names and badge numbers for all officers on duty[;] [6] All incident numbers[;] [7] All radio transmissions. The Department responded on March 5, 2026, providing a fee estimate. Unsatisfied with the response, Mr. Blankenship petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR26/0847, was opened as a result. Fee Estimates – Municipalities 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. 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 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 P. Daley SPR26/0847 Page 2 March 23, 2026 ($.05) per page may 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 two (2) hours of employee time to search for compile, segregate, redact or reproduce the record of 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 the 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 March 5th Fee Estimate In its March 5, 2026 fee estimate, the Department provided a fee estimate of $200.00 and stated the following: After review, I have determined that this request includes a substantial amount of video footage that must be reviewed to determine if it is subject to public records disclosure or may need to be redacted or segregated. The length of the videos requested is 8.0 hours which include station video. I estimate it will take 8.0 hours to complete your request. The estimated fee for the 8.0 hours will be $200.00 ($25.00/Hr.). Additionally there will be a $5.30 cost for the electronic storage device. Upon receipt of payment we will process the request. In an effort to be transparent the station videos system only saves the video for 30 days. Please let me know by March 12th if you will be requesting this footage and have payment in full prior to March 12th. In accordance with 950 CMR 32.06(2)(f), the Town requires payment in full of the amount of the initial good faith estimate prior to complying with your request for paper copies. If the actual cost to comply with your request exceeds the initial good faith estimate, the Town will provide you with a revised estimate and will continue to comply with your request after receiving additional payment. If the actual cost to comply with your request is less than the initial good faith estimate, the Town will refund any excess payment. You should be aware that compliance with such request, after the initial one-half hour, may include charges for the lowest-paid Town employee capable of

Chief Ryan P. Daley SPR26/0847 Page 3 March 23, 2026 searching for and compiling responsive records, and $0.05 per page for black and white copies and printouts. Please inform the Town if you would prefer electronic copies instead. In accordance with 950 CMR 32.07(2)(m), municipalities with a population of 20,000 and under may assess a fee, including the first two hours, for time spent searching for, compiling, segregating, redacting, and reproducing a requested record, provided: i. Population data shall be determined by the decennial U.S. Census; and ii. It shall be the burden of the municipal Records Access Officer to provide population data information in responses in which it seeks to assess such fees. Current Appeal In his appeal to this office, Mr. Blankenship stated the following: Please Compel Chief Ryan Daley to refrain from conspiracy to deprivation under color of law conspiring with water department superintendent [an identified individual] for multiple assaults multiple vandelism intimidation retaliation harassment first amendment retaliation Stalking etc. All of this is being forwarded to the attorney general office and DOJ/FBI. [sic]. G. L. c. 66, § 10(e) 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 subsection (b).” Where Mr. Blankenship submitted a public records request on February 15th and the Department provided a fee estimate on March 5th, I find it is unclear whether the Department complied with G. L. c. 66, § 10(e). Specifically, the Department must demonstrate whether it provided a response to Mr. Blankenship’s request under G. L. c. 66, § 10(b) within 10 business days of receipt of the request. Conclusion Accordingly, the Department is ordered to provide Mr. Blankenship 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. Blankenship may appeal the substantive nature of the Department’s response within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1).

Chief Ryan P. Daley SPR26/0847 Page 4 March 23, 2026 Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Shawn Blankenship