Sanford, Laurie v. Dartmouth, Town of - Police Department (SPR 20260962)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records March 23, 2026 SPR26/0962 Nicole Perullo Police Clerk Dartmouth Police Department 1390 Tucker Road Dartmouth, MA 02747 Dear Ms. Perullo: On March 17, 2026, this office received your petition on behalf of the Dartmouth Police Department (Department) seeking an extension of time to produce records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(c); G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4). As required by law, I understand that the Department furnished a copy of this petition to the requestor, Laurie Sanford, Esq. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c); G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv)(2). On February 17, 2026, Attorney Sanford requested the following: Any and all records concerning calls related to [an identified address]. Including but not limited to: [1] All police reports, log street, call sheets, and record related to the property at [an identified address][;] [2] All police reports, log street, call sheets, and record related to the property at [six identified individuals]. Petition for an Extension of Time to Produce Records Under the Public Records Law, upon a showing of good cause, the Supervisor of Records (Supervisor) may grant a single extension to an agency not to exceed 20 business days and a single extension to a municipality not to exceed 30 business days. In determining whether there has been a showing of good cause, the Supervisor shall consider, but shall not be limited to considering: (i) the need to search for, collect, segregate or examine records; (ii) the scope of redaction required to prevent unlawful disclosure; (iii) the capacity or the normal business hours of operation of the agency or municipality to produce the request without the extension; 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

Nicole Perullo SPR26/0962 Page 2 March 23, 2026 (iv) efforts undertaken by the agency or municipality in fulfilling the current request and previous requests; (v) whether the request, either individually or as part of a series of requests from the same requestor, is frivolous or intended to harass or intimidate the agency or municipality; and (vi) the public interest served by expeditious disclosure. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). If the Supervisor determines that the request is part of a series of contemporaneous requests that are frivolous or designed to intimidate or harass, and the requests are not intended for the broad dissemination of information to the public about actual or alleged government activity, the Supervisor may grant a longer extension or relieve the agency or municipality of its obligation to provide copies of the records sought. Id. The filing of a petition does not affect the requirement that a Records Access Officer (RAO) shall provide an initial response to a requestor within ten business days after receipt of a request for public records. 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4)(b). Request for Additional Time to Produce Responsive Records In its petition, the Department requests an extension of 30 business days and provides the following information in support of its request: ... We provided the requestor with a written response, wherein we; (a) confirmed receipt of the request; (b) identified the records sought which were not within the departments possession, custody, or control; (c) identified the agency or municipality that may be in possession, custody, or control of the records sought, if known; (d) identified the potential exemptions the department could use to withhold some or all of the requested records, including specific exemption or exemptions upon which the withholding or redaction would be based; (e) provided a detailed statement describing why the magnitude or difficulty of the request unduly burdens the other responsibilities of the department and therefore required additional time to produce the public records sought; (f) included an itemized, good faith estimate of any fees that may be charged to produce the records, if any; and (g) included 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. ... This petition is being filed within twenty (20) business days after the receipt of the request for public records, or within 10 business days after we received a determination from your office that a requested record constitutes public record. We cannot complete the request within 25 business days following our initial receipt because the request unduly burdens the other responsibilities of our

Nicole Perullo SPR26/0962 Page 3 March 23, 2026 department due to the magnitude or difficulty of the request. We have found 65 (sixty-five) reports, 326 (three hundred twenty-six) call logs, 1 (one) video totaling 1 (one) minute, and 6 (six) supplemental statements for the records requested. ... It is likely that at least some portions of the reports are subject to one or more exemptions under the Public Records Law including but not limited to exemption (c) for privacy for information like social security numbers, telephone numbers, license numbers, exemption (a) for CORI, and/or domestic violence information and/or exemption (f) for witness information or victim information, and therefore will be withheld, in whole or in part. ... There is good cause to grant this single extension based upon the following factors: This estimate is based on each report taking approximately 10 minutes to segregate and redact, and each call log taking approximately 5 minutes to segregate and redact. This will need to be done for all requested records, and will result in 38 estimated hours of segregation and redaction. Only a select number of employees within our department are able to fulfil this type of request. Those employees are the only ones that can search, compile, and redact these types of requested records. I am respectfully requesting this extension of time to search for, compile and redact if applicable by following the guidelines of Public Record Law M.G.L. c. 66, § 10. Our department is currently awaiting payment from the requester. Once payment is received the department will diligently work on this request and may complete it well within the requested extension. Based on the Department’s petition, I find that in light of the need to search for, collect, segregate and examine the records, the scope of redaction required to prevent unlawful disclosure, efforts undertaken by the Department in fulfilling the current request, and the capacity of the Department to produce the request without the extension, the Department has established good cause to permit an extension of time. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c)(iii). The Department is granted an extension of 30 business days. Conclusion Accordingly, I find the Department has established good cause for a time extension of 30 business days as described above. Please note, Attorney Sanford has the right to seek judicial review of this decision by commencing a civil action in the appropriate superior court. See G. L. c. 66, §§ 10(c), 10(d)(iv)(4), 10A(c).

Nicole Perullo SPR26/0962 Page 4 March 23, 2026 Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Laurie Sanford, Esq.