Use of force detail data 2008-2016 (Springfield Police Department)

To Whom It May Concern,
This is regarding your request for records concerning use of force issues from 2008-2016. Any request for public records has to be made via the City of Springfield website (public records request portal). Requests are not to be made directly to the police department. Thank you and have a good day.

Sergeant John D. Taylor
Information Services/Records Bureau
Springfield Police Department
130 Pearl Street
Springfield, MA 01105
(413) 787-6899
(413) 787-6800 fax
jtaylor@springfieldpolice.net<mailto:jtaylor@springfieldpolice.net>

CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This email communication and any attachments may contain confidential and privileged information for the use of the above recipients by the designee sender of the Springfield Police Department. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that you have received this communication in error and that any review, disclosure, dissemination, distribution, retain or copying of it or its contents is prohibited. Please reply to the sender immediately by return e-mail or by telephone at (413)787-6308 and destroy / delete all copies of this communication and any attachments.

Dear Aileen Johnson:
The City of Springfield is in receipt of your public records request.
Your request has been 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. Your request was received in this office on 9/14/2020 and given the reference number R002611-091420 for tracking purposes.
Pursuant to M.G.L. .c. 66, §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 CMR 32.00 and M.G.L. c. 66, §10(b).
You can monitor the progress of your request at the link below and you'll receive an email when your request has been completed. Thank you for using the Public Records Center.
The City of Springfield

--- Please respond above this line ---

RE: PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST of September 14, 2020, Reference # R002611-091420
Dear Aileen Johnson,
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:

Use of force data with detail summaries for all use of force incidents from 2008-2016. Please provide the following details for each incident:

Date (year, month, day) of the incident, subject race, officer race, type of force used, whether there was subject injury, and whether there was officer injury.

I prefer csv spreadsheet format (or pdf) where each row represents an incident. Here is an example of the data I'm looking for (https://www.dallasopendata.com/Public-Safety/Police-2015-Response-to-Resistance/594v-2cnd).

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 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,

A. Johnson”

Please be advised that the City is in receipt of your request. While the request is labor intensive we are working diligently. Your request has been 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.
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 CMR 32.00 and M.G.L.c. 66, §10(b).

Please contact the Public Records Coordinator, AndreaL. Stone, by responding to this email with any questions. Please reference public recordsrequest #R002611-091420 in all correspondence regarding this request.
Sincerely,
Andrea L. Stone
Public Records Coordinator

--- Please respond above this line ---

RE: PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST of September 14, 2020, Reference # R002611-091420
Dear Aileen Johnson,
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:

Use of force data with detail summaries for all use of force incidents from 2008-2016. Please provide the following details for each incident:

Date (year, month, day) of the incident, subject race, officer race, type of force used, whether there was subject injury, and whether there was officer injury.

I prefer csv spreadsheet format (or pdf) where each row represents an incident. Here is an example of the data I'm looking for (https://www.dallasopendata.com/Public-Safety/Police-2015-Response-to-Resistance/594v-2cnd).

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 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,

A. Johnson”

Personnel in the Springfield Police Department have advised that Springfield Police Department data for incidents is not recorded like this. We do not have a tracking system for the data like in the example.

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 CMR 32.00 and M.G.L. c. 66, § 10(A)(a) and you have the right to seek judicial review of an unfavorable decision by commencing an action in the Superior Court under Section 10A(c).
Please contact the Public Records Associate, Monique Davis, by responding to this email with any questions. Please reference public recordsrequest #R002611-091420 in all correspondence regarding this request.
Sincerely,
Monique Davis