Emerson College and Northeastern University arrests

Dear Rebecca Burns
Thank you for your interest in public records of Boston Police Department. Your request has been received and is being processed. Your request was received in this office on 4/30/2024 9:40:01 PM and given the reference number B001305-043024 for tracking purposes.
If this is a media request, please contact the Office of Media Relations directly at 617.343.4520.
To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Massachusetts Public Records Law, I hereby request the following records:

1) Any communications sent to or received from administration or staff at Emerson College on April 24, 25, or 26, 2024.

2) Any communications sent to or received from the Emory College Police Department on April 24, 25, or 26, 2024.

3) Any report concerning arrests or other interactions with demonstrators at or near Emerson College on April 25, 2024.

4) Any communications sent to or received from administration or staff at Northeastern University on April 26, 27, or 28, 2024.

5) Any report concerning arrests or other interactions with demonstrators at or near Northeastern University on April 27, 2024.

Please also note that this request seeks public records wherever they may be found, including on personal cell phones or social media accounts used to conduct public business.

I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as we believe this request is in the public interest, as suggested but not stipulated by the recommendations of the Massachusetts Supervisor of Public Records. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, and is not made for commercial usage.

I expect the request to be filled in an accessible format, including for screen readers, which provide text-to-speech for persons unable to read print. Files that are not accessible to screen readers include, for example, .pdf image files as well as physical documents.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 10 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Rebecca Burns

Upload documents directly: https://www.muckrock.com/
You can monitor the progress of your request at the link below and you'll receive an email when your request has been completed. Again, thank you for using the Public Records Center.
Director, Public Information
Boston Police Department

Track the issue status and respond at: https://bostonma.govqa.us/WEBAPP//_rs/RequestEdit.aspx?rid=31833

--- Please respond above this line ---
05/15/2024 RE: PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST of April 30, 2024., Reference # B001305-043024 Dear Rebecca Burns: The City of Boston (City) has received your request for public records.  This response applies only to records that exist and are in the custody of the City. See A Guide to the Massachusetts Public Records Law, p. 32, n.115.  It is expected that a custodian of records must use her superior knowledge of her records with respect to responses to public records requests.  950 CMR 32.04(5).  Specifically, you stated:
To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Massachusetts Public Records Law, I hereby request the following records:

1) Any communications sent to or received from administration or staff at Emerson College on April 24, 25, or 26, 2024.

2) Any communications sent to or received from the Emory College Police Department on April 24, 25, or 26, 2024.

3) Any report concerning arrests or other interactions with demonstrators at or near Emerson College on April 25, 2024.

4) Any communications sent to or received from administration or staff at Northeastern University on April 26, 27, or 28, 2024.

5) Any report concerning arrests or other interactions with demonstrators at or near Northeastern University on April 27, 2024.

Please also note that this request seeks public records wherever they may be found, including on personal cell phones or social media accounts used to conduct public business.

I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as we believe this request is in the public interest, as suggested but not stipulated by the recommendations of the Massachusetts Supervisor of Public Records. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, and is not made for commercial usage.

I expect the request to be filled in an accessible format, including for screen readers, which provide text-to-speech for persons unable to read print. Files that are not accessible to screen readers include, for example, .pdf image files as well as physical documents.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 10 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Rebecca Burns

Upload documents directly: https://www.muckrock.com/ A response to a public records request must be provided within ten (10) business days of receiving a written request.  G. L. c. 66, § 10 (a); 950 CMR 32.06(2)(b).  The public records law permits a response time of up to twenty-five (25) business days from the business day a written request is received, so long as a detailed explanation is provided.  G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(vi); 950 CMR 32.06(2)(i). Due to the nature of your request, additional time is needed.  As such, the City will need up to, but no more than, fifteen (15) additional business days to review and process your request. Yours truly, Bianca V. Crockett, Esq. Assistant Corporation Counsel City of Boston One City Hall Square Boston, MA 02201 Bianca.crockett@boston.gov

--- Please respond above this line ---
06/04/2024 RE: PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST of April 30, 2024, Reference # B001305-043024 Dear Rebecca Burns: The Boston Police Department (Department) has received your request for public records.  This response applies only to records that exist and are in the custody of the City. See A Guide to the Massachusetts Public Records Law, p. 32, n.115.  It is expected that a custodian of records must use her superior knowledge of her records concerning responses to public records requests.  950 CMR 32.04(5).  Specifically, you stated:
To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Massachusetts Public Records Law, I hereby request the following records:

1) Any communications sent to or received from administration or staff at Emerson College on April 24, 25, or 26, 2024.

2) Any communications sent to or received from the Emory College Police Department on April 24, 25, or 26, 2024.

3) Any report concerning arrests or other interactions with demonstrators at or near Emerson College on April 25, 2024.

4) Any communications sent to or received from administration or staff at Northeastern University on April 26, 27, or 28, 2024.

5) Any report concerning arrests or other interactions with demonstrators at or near Northeastern University on April 27, 2024.

Please also note that this request seeks public records wherever they may be found, including on personal cell phones or social media accounts used to conduct public business.

I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as we believe this request is in the public interest, as suggested but not stipulated by the recommendations of the Massachusetts Supervisor of Public Records. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, and is not made for commercial usage.

I expect the request to be filled in an accessible format, including for screen readers, which provide text-to-speech for persons unable to read print. Files that are not accessible to screen readers include, for example, .pdf image files as well as physical documents.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 10 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Rebecca Burns

Upload documents directly: https://www.muckrock.com/ The records responsive to this request have been released to the Public Records Center.  Click the link below to log in to the Records Center. Four-hundred twenty-four responsive emails are redacted to omit personally identifiable information for specifically identified persons, including names, date of birth, Social Security Numbers, home addresses, and phone numbers.  Such portions are deemed intimate details of a highly personal nature.  The public interest in disclosure does not outweigh the privacy interest these individuals hold.  The information is not available from another public source. G. L.  c.4,  § 7(26) (c). Fifteen responsive email records consist of attorney-client privileged communications. Suffolk Const. Co., Inc. v. Division of Capital Asset Management , 449 Mass. 444 (2007). These records shall be withheld entirely.  A records custodian must satisfy a three-part test in establishing the attorney-client privilege. See Suffolk Constr. Co. v. Div. of Capital Asset Mgmt. , 449 Mass. 444 (2007); see also SPR18/423 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (April 11, 2018).  The Suffolk Court’s holding imposes a burden on a records custodian of “not only proving the existence of an attorney-client relationship but also (1) that the communications were received from a client during the client’s search for legal advice from the attorney in his capacity as such; (2) that the communications were made in confidence; and (3) that the privilege as to these communications has not been waived.” See SPR18/423 (April 11, 2018), p2.  The withheld records consist solely of communications between City employees and their attorneys. Such records contain information between an attorney and client related to “the client’s search for legal advice from the attorney in his capacity as such.” All of these communications “were made in confidence.”  In all cases “the privilege as to these communications has not been waived.”  The Client is the City of Boston. Forty-five responsive emails consist of information associated with open Boston Police Department Internal Affairs Department (IAD) investigations and criminal proceedings.  These records shall be withheld entirely.  The release will prejudice effective law enforcement. Records custodians may withhold records under the investigatory exemption relating to an ongoing investigation if the release of such records would disclose confidential investigative techniques, procedures, or sources of information. See G. L.  c.4,  § 7(26) (f); Bougas v. Chief of Police of Lexington, 371 Mass. 59, 354 N.E.2d 872 (1976) .  An essential part of the investigatory process includes a dialogue between police departments, individual citizens, and potential witnesses.  Exemption (f) contemplates that individual citizens should be encouraged to come forward and speak freely with police concerning matters under investigation and the creation of an initiative that police officers might be completely candid in recording their observations, hypotheses, and interim conclusions. Id Two incident reports have been uploaded. There are redactions to these reports of under Exemption (a) of the Public Records Law in order to protect the identity of juveniles.  Exemption (a) applies to records that are specifically or by necessary implication exempted from disclosure by statute.  G. L. c. 4, § 7(26)(a).   A government entity may use the statutory exemption as a basis for withholding requested materials where the exempting statute expressly states or necessarily implies that the public’s right to inspect records under the Public Records Law is restricted.  Att’y Gen. v. Collector of Lynn, 377 Mass. 151, 154 (1979); Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. v. Appeals Court, 372 Mass. 539, 545-46 (1977).  This exemption establishes two categories of exempted records.  The first category consists of records that are expressly exempt from disclosure by statute where the language of the statute will provide that such record "shall not be a public record" or have similar language referring to the confidentiality of the record.  The second category under the exemption includes records deemed exempt under statute by necessary implication.  G. L. c. 4, § 7(26)(a). personally identifiable information for specifically identified persons, including date of birth, Social Security Numbers, home addresses, and phone numbers.  Also, the name and identifying information of a juvenile are redacted
The Department redacted the name of the juvenile under the second category where records are exempted by necessary implication pursuant to G.L. c. 41 § 98F which expressly provides that entries on police logs concerning arrests of a person under the age of 18 shall be kept separately, shall not be a public record nor shall such entry be disclosed to the public.  See G.L. c. 41 ss.98F.  While the record you are seeking is not an entry in the daily police log, it does relate to an arrest of a juvenile; therefore, by necessary implication, this information is not public and the Department redacted information relating to the juvenile.
You may appeal this response to the Supervisor of Records in the Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth. G. L. c. 66, § 10A (c); G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(ix); 950 CMR 32.08; 950 CMR 32.08(1)(h) (in petitioning the Supervisor, the requester shall provide a copy of such petition to the records access officer associated with such petition). You may also appeal to the Superior Court. 950 CMR 32.06(3)(c). Yours truly, Christine O'Donnell Assistant Corporation Counsel Office of the Legal Advisor Boston Police Department