Cambridge police drone emails

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Massachusetts Public Records Law, M.G.L. c.66, §10, I hereby request the following records:

All emails sent to or received by Cambridge Police Commissioner Robert C. Haas between Sunday, April 14 and the date this request is processed that contain the following keywords:

Drone
UAV
Unmanned aerial vehicle
UAS
Unmanned aerial system
Unmanned
Aerial surveillance
Thermal imaging
FAA
Federal Aviation Administration

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, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not 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 fees cannot be waived, 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,

Shawn Musgrave

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on April 29, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on April 29, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on April 29, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on April 29, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on April 29, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on April 29, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on April 29, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on April 29, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on April 29, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on April 29, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on April 29, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

We are processing this request and should have cost estimate letter to you this week.

Best,
Dan Riviello
Director of Communications & Media Relations

To whom it may concern:

This is in response to your public records request for: “All emails sent to or received by Cambridge Police Commissioner Robert C. Haas between Sunday, April 14 and the date this request is processed that contain the following keywords:

Drone
UAV
Unmanned aerial vehicle
UAS
Unmanned aerial system
Unmanned
Aerial surveillance
Thermal imaging
FAA
Federal Aviation Administration”

Pursuant to 950 CMR 32.06(2), this is the written good faith estimate of the applicable search and segregation time costs that are payable before the City complies with your request.

It is estimated that in order to respond to your request that three (3) hours of employee time will be necessary: two (2) hours at an hourly rate of $48.63 ($97.26) and one (1) hour at an hourly rate of $47.00. Additionally, it is estimated that there are 77 responsive documents that can be copied for a fee of .20 a page ($15.40). As such, the total estimated fee is $159.66 ($144.26 + $15.40).

This amount is payable in advance of the City actually complying with your request. You may pay by check payable to the City of Cambridge sent to my attention.

This is an estimate for the search and segregation time costs. If the amount you pay turns out to be more than was necessary to comply with your request, you will be refunded the difference. If the estimate turns out to be too little, the City will comply with the request to the extent paid for and will submit a new estimate to you to complete the response.

Sincerely,

________________________
James J. Mulcahy
Legal Advisor
Cambridge Police Department
125 Sixth Street
Cambridge, MA 02142
(t) 617-349-3344
(f) 617-349-3320

Hello,

Thank you for providing this fee estimate for this request. A couple of points:

You did not respond to my request for a fee waiver. Given the public's intense interest in the Cambridge Police Department's use of surveillance cameras and ALPR units, it stands to reason there will be incredible interest in discussions of the use of UAVs in the city. As a member of the media whose work, particularly on drones, has been featured in the Boston Globe, the Progressive, DigBoston, The Phoenix and cited in the New York Times, Ars Technica, The Boston Herald and dozens of other publications, these documents will be put to good use informing the Cambridge and Boston public of the workings of its government officials. Particularly in light of the considerable delay on this request, which was originally submitted in April, I urge you to waive fees in this case.

Should you choose not to extend to me a fee waiver, your fee estimate still sounds very high, particularly since the lowest paid employee rate is $47.00. MGL requires the lowest paid employee to complete respective tasks for records requests -- please confirm that the lowest paid employee that can conduct the initial search for potentially responsive documents is paid $47.00. This is not a discretionary issue, but a statutory requirement for the lowest paid employee who is competent, capable and of proper clearance to conduct the search.

Thank you for your assistance on this request, and I look forward to discussing it with you further.

Best,
Shawn Musgrave
MuckRock

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on April 29, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on April 29, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on April 29, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on April 29, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on April 29, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on April 29, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on April 29, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on April 29, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on April 29, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.