Police Data Collection Request (2022)

Dear Samuel Sinyangwe:

The City of Springfield is in receipt of your public records request.

Your request was received on 8/10/2023 and assigned the Reference Number R008706-081023 for tracking purposes. Your request will be forwarded to the appropriate department[s] and a response will be sent to you as soon as we have obtained and reviewed any document[s] that may be responsive to your request. Pursuant to Mass. Gen. Laws chapter 66, section 10(b), the City has ten [10] business days to respond to your request.

Should you be aggrieved by this response, you may appeal to the Supervisor of Public Records in the Massachusetts Secretary of State's Office pursuant to 950 C.M.R. 32.00 and Mass. Gen. Laws chapter 66, section 10A(a). Below is the Supervisor's contact information. A copy of your request letter or email should be included with your appeal and mailed to:

Supervisor of Records
One Ashburton Place, Room 1719
Boston, MA 02108

You also have the right to seek judicial review of an unfavorable decision by commencing a civil action in Superior Court under Mass. Gen. Laws chapter 66, section 10A(c). You can monitor the progress of your request at the link below. An email will be sent to you once your request has been completed.

Thank you for using the City of Springfield's Public Record Request Portal.

Sincerely,

Justin P. Morin
Public Records Coordinator

--- Please respond above this line ---
RE: PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST of August 10, 2023, Reference # R008706-081023

Dear Samuel Sinyangwe,

This email is in response to your public records request to the City of Springfield for “To Whom It May Concern:

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

1. the total number of use of force incidents in 2022.

2. the total number of use of force incidents, separated by type of force, in 2022 (for example, information that specifies the number of taser incidents in 2022, baton incidents in 2022, etc.)

3. the total number of civilian complaints against law enforcement that were reported and the total number sustained for 2022.

4. the total number of civilian complaints alleging law enforcement use of excessive force that were reported and the total number sustained for 2022.

5. the total number of civilian complaints alleging biased policing or racial profiling that were reported and the total number sustained for 2022.

6. the total number of civilian complaints alleging criminal conduct that were reported and the total number sustained for 2022.

7. the total number of officer-involved shootings in 2022, both fatal and non-fatal.

8. the total number of people who police used force against, broken down by race/ethnicity, in 2022.

When available, I would appreciate being sent individualized data in this request in spreadsheet format. If individualized data are unavailable, please send information that includes aggregate statistics for the item instead.

Note that my requests for civilian complaints are specifically for civilian complaints, please do not include complaints filed by one officer/the department against another officer.

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,

Samuel Sinyangwe”

Please be advised that the Springfield Police Department is requiring a ten (10) day extension to continue the efforts of fulfilling your public record request. Please consent to this extension in the GovQA Portal.

Personnel at the Springfield Police Department Internal Investigations Unit (SPD IIU) have issued the following responses to your inquiries in items 3, 4, 5 and 6:
Item #3. The total number of 2022 civilian complaints were 93. A total of 8 of them were sustained;
Item #4. The total number of 2022 civilian complaints alleging excessive force were 9. A total of 0 of them were sustained;
Item #5: The Springfield Police Department does not categorize civilian complaints alleging biased policing or racial profiling;
Item #6: The Springfield Police Department does not categorize civilian complaints alleging criminal conduct.

Furthermore, please see the 2022 Board of Police Commissioner's Yearly and Quarterly Reports for additional information: Board of Police Commissioners: City of Springfield, MA (springfield-ma.gov).

Should you be aggrieved by this response, you may appeal to the Supervisor of Public Records in the Massachusetts Secretary of State’s Office pursuant to 950 C.M.R. 32.00 and M.G.L. ch. 66, §10(b).

Please contact the Public Records Division by responding to this email or by phone at (413) 787-6085 with any questions. Please reference Public Records Request # R008706-081023 in all correspondence regarding this request.

Sincerely,

Public Records Division

--- Please respond above this line ---
RE: PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST of August 10, 2023, Reference # R008706-081023I 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.

Dear Samuel Sinyangwe,

This email is in response to your public records request to the City of Springfield for “To Whom It May Concern:

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

1. the total number of use of force incidents in 2022.

2. the total number of use of force incidents, separated by type of force, in 2022 (for example, information that specifies the number of taser incidents in 2022, baton incidents in 2022, etc.)

3. the total number of civilian complaints against law enforcement that were reported and the total number sustained for 2022.

4. the total number of civilian complaints alleging law enforcement use of excessive force that were reported and the total number sustained for 2022.

5. the total number of civilian complaints alleging biased policing or racial profiling that were reported and the total number sustained for 2022.

6. the total number of civilian complaints alleging criminal conduct that were reported and the total number sustained for 2022.

7. the total number of officer-involved shootings in 2022, both fatal and non-fatal.

8. the total number of people who police used force against, broken down by race/ethnicity, in 2022.

When available, I would appreciate being sent individualized data in this request in spreadsheet format. If individualized data are unavailable, please send information that includes aggregate statistics for the item instead.

Note that my requests for civilian complaints are specifically for civilian complaints, please do not include complaints filed by one officer/the department against another officer.

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."
The Springfield Police Department Internal Investigations Unit (IIU) indicated that there are no responsive records related to statistics or spreadsheets containing the data you requested regarding items 1, 2, 7 and 8. The Internal Investigations Unit recently began (Spring 2023) using a use-of-force tracking software titled “BlueTeam” (Spring 2023) that tracks use-of-force incidents. However, this software was not implemented during the 2022 year and therefore cannot provide the statistics you requested for that time period.
Furthermore, the records do not exist in individualized spreadsheet format. The City's duty to respond to public records requests extends only to records that are in existence and in the custody of the City at the time the request is received. The City is under no obligation to create a record in response to record requests. See Secretary of the Commonwealth, Division of Public Records, A Guide to the Massachusetts Public Records Law 8 https://www.sec.state.ma.us/divisions/public-records/download/guide.pdf. The City requires additional information in order to respond to your request.
Since there are no statistics available or spreadsheets containing the data you requested, please advise if you would like to modify your request to receive all use-of-force reports for the 2022 year. These reports will be searchable and machine-readable but not in spreadsheet format.
Please provide the information referenced above within five (5) business days from 08/30/2023. Otherwise, the City of Springfield will consider your request withdrawn.
You may provide a response to the City of Springfield by responding to this email.
Upon receipt of your clarification, the City of Springfield will further review your public records request and a response will be sent to you as soon as we have obtained and reviewed any document[s] that may be responsive to your request.
Should you be aggrieved by this response, you may appeal to the Supervisor of Public Records in the Massachusetts Secretary of State’s Office pursuant to 950 C.M.R. 32.00 and M.G.L. ch. 66, §10(b).
Please contact the Public Records Division by responding to this email or by phone at (413) 787-6085 with any questions. Please reference Public Records Request #R008706-081023 in all correspondence regarding this request.
Sincerely,
Public Records Division

Dear Samuel Sinyangwe:


In regards to the Public Records Request received on 8/10/2023 requesting records, the records have been in "Requested Clarification" status for 5 days. The City of Springfield will wait for another 5 days to hear a response. If in 10 total days the City of Springfield has not received your response the request will be withdrawn and closed. Thank you for using the Public Records Center. Request Details:
Reference # R008706-081023
Description of Records Requested: To Whom It May Concern:

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

1. the total number of use of force incidents in 2022.

2. the total number of use of force incidents, separated by type of force, in 2022 (for example, information that specifies the number of taser incidents in 2022, baton incidents in 2022, etc.)

3. the total number of civilian complaints against law enforcement that were reported and the total number sustained for 2022.

4. the total number of civilian complaints alleging law enforcement use of excessive force that were reported and the total number sustained for 2022.

5. the total number of civilian complaints alleging biased policing or racial profiling that were reported and the total number sustained for 2022.

6. the total number of civilian complaints alleging criminal conduct that were reported and the total number sustained for 2022.

7. the total number of officer-involved shootings in 2022, both fatal and

This is an auto-generated email and has originated from an unmonitored email account. Please DO NOT REPLY.

Dear Samuel Sinyangwe,


In regard to the Public Records Request received on 8/10/2023 requesting records, the records have been in "Requested Clarification" status for 10 days. The City of Springfield considers this request closed. If you would still like the records, please submit another Public Records Request. Thank you for using the Public Records Center. Request Details:
Reference Number R008706-081023
Description of Records Requested: To Whom It May Concern:

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

1. the total number of use of force incidents in 2022.

2. the total number of use of force incidents, separated by type of force, in 2022 (for example, information that specifies the number of taser incidents in 2022, baton incidents in 2022, etc.)

3. the total number of civilian complaints against law enforcement that were reported and the total number sustained for 2022.

4. the total number of civilian complaints alleging law enforcement use of excessive force that were reported and the total number sustained for 2022.

5. the total number of civilian complaints alleging biased policing or racial profiling that were reported and the total number sustained for 2022.

6. the total number of civilian complaints alleging criminal conduct that were reported and the total number sustained for 2022.

7. the total number of officer-involved shootings in 2022, both fatal and To view the full details of this request please log into the Public Records Center. This is an auto-generated email and has originated from an unmonitored email account. Please DO NOT REPLY.