INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER VIGLIONE FILES APPEAL ON MEDFORD POLICE DEPARTMENT'S REFUSAL TO GIVE THE PUBLIC INFORMATION THAT IT DESERVES. PUBLIC SAFETY IS THE ISSUE
Fri, Dec 2 at 5:27 AM
Public Records Division
William Galvin's Office
Boston, MA
Dear Records Division:
On or about Nov 29th I filed a public records request on an alleged assault by a firefighter or Medford police officer.
On December 1, 2022 Lt. Casey of the MPD sent a quick response, which I appreciated, but used the same language that he used in regards to photographs of a city councilor behaving reckless.
I prevailed and the public got the information that it should have had a year before, prior to an election.
"The recently-passed "Act Relative to Justice, Equity and Accountability in Law Enforcement in the Commonwealth," eliminates the "privacy exemption" to the Public Records Law for records relating to a "law enforcement misconduct investigation."
See Section 2, Chapter 253 of the Acts of 2020; MGL c.4 § 7 cl. 26 (c). As such, defendants and members of the public may now be able to access an officer's IA file without filing a motion in conjunction with a criminal case.
If a privacy exemption cannot shield a police officer from a "law enforcement misconduct investigation," all the more reason an elected official has no such privacy right, was what I previously wrote. Since the records officer, Lt. Casey, did not say there were no such reports on the alleged domestic violence, we must believe there was alleged domestic violence and Mr. Casey is required to respond with the documents requested.
Sincerely
The public was cheated during an election cycle, but the truth came out a year later.
I prevailed due to this language:
"The recently-passed "Act Relative to Justice, Equity and Accountability in Law Enforcement in the Commonwealth," eliminates the "privacy exemption" to the Public Records Law for records relating to a "law enforcement misconduct investigation."
See Section 2, Chapter 253 of the Acts of 2020; MGL c.4 § 7 cl. 26 (c). As such, defendants and members of the public may now be able to access an officer's IA file without filing a motion in conjunction with a criminal case.
In
the previous case regarding a city councilor I seem to recall that Lt.
Casey's position switched from "impeding law enforcement" to "privacy"
of an elected official, a Medford city councilor. The police
department's position changed the way Donald Trump keeps
coming up with new theories when his position is found flawed, only to lose repeatedly in different court rooms across America.
If a privacy exemption cannot shield a police officer from a "law enforcement misconduct investigation," all the more reason an elected official has no such privacy right, was what I previously wrote. Since the records officer, Lt. Casey, did not say there were no such reports on the alleged domestic violence, we must believe there was alleged domestic violence and Mr. Casey is required to respond with the documents requested.
Also, the police have no such problem exposing even victims of police misconduct in the pages of the Medford Transcript.
The MPD retaliated on me for filing public records requests with a bogus claim that seemed to infuriate the judge.
I prevailed over their intimidation tactics. The MPD has a poor history when it comes to being upfront and honest with public records requests. The department has almost 3 dozen officers on the dreaded Brady list, more than any other police department in Middlesex County, discovered only through my public records requests vis-a-vis the L'Italien Report and a records request to the District Attorney. Sunlight is the best disinfectant and some sunlight is definitely in order
here.
Joe Viglione
Investigative reporter
Real Medford Mass Politics
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