Reports of law enforcement activity in Central Square April 18, 2013
| Submitted | April 17, 2014 |
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Communications
From: Saul Tannenbaum
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Massachusetts Public Records Law, M.G.L. c.66, §10, I hereby request the following records:
In a letter to FBI Director James Comey dated October 15 2013, United States Senator Charles Grassley states that "Cambridge Police Department officers encountered multiple teams of FBI employees conducting surveillance in the area of Central Square" on the evening of April 18, 2013. (see: http://www.wcvb.com/blob/view/-/22499770/data/2/-/qiihi9/-/Grassley-Letter.pdf) I request any and all logs, reports, email or other correspondence regarding Cambridge Pollice Officers encounters with FBI or other Federal law enforcment agencies on the evening of April 18th prior to the shooting of Officer Sean Collier of the MIT Police. In addition, I request any and all correspondence between the Cambridge Police Department and Senator Grassley or any staff of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
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,
Saul Tannenbaum
From: Warnick,Jeremy
Mr. Tannenbaum,
Please find the following response to your Public Records Request to the Cambridge Police Department, dated April 17, 2014, requesting:
• [A]ny and all logs, reports, email or other correspondence regarding Cambridge Pollice [sic] Officers encounters with FBI or other Federal law enforcement [sic] agencies on the evening of April 18th prior to the shooting of Officer Sean Collier of the MIT Police.” And
• “[A]ny and all correspondence between the Cambridge Police Department and Senator Grassley or any staff of the Senate Judiciary Committee.”
As to your first request, the Cambridge Police Department declines to provide the requested materials. In denying your request for these materials, the Department cites M.G.L. c. 4, § 7(26)(f) – The Investigatory Exemption and the United States Constitution. The Department also reserves the right to assert additional exemptions if necessary.
Exemption (f) to the Public Records Law provides records custodians a basis for withholding:
“investigatory materials necessarily compiled out of the public view by law enforcement or other investigatory officials the disclosure of which materials would probably so prejudice the possibility of effective law enforcement that such disclosure would not be in the public interest.”
As noted in “A Guide to the Massachusetts Public Records Law,” this “exemption allows investigative officials to withhold materials that could compromise investigative efforts if disclosed. . . . Similarly, records custodians may withhold confidential investigative techniques indefinitely since their disclosure would prejudice future law enforcement efforts.”
There are currently active and on-going investigations relating to the incident you have requested records for. The disclosure of the requested materials and investigative techniques related to these investigations could prejudice the possibility of effective law enforcement such that disclosure would not be in the public interest. To that end, there is also a very real possibility that the release of these materials would compromise the on-going investigative efforts if disclosed. As such, the Cambridge Police Department is invoking the Investigatory Exemption to the Public Records Law with regards to the release of the requested records.
Second, due to on-going federal criminal prosecution(s), the United States Attorney’s Office has prohibited the Cambridge Police Department from disclosing anything about this case to the media or anyone not working on this case. This prohibition is designed to ensure that the defendant(s) receive a fair trial, as guaranteed by the United States Constitution.
As to your second request, the Cambridge Police Department is not in possession of any responsive documents.
You are hereby notified that you may seek redress within ninety (90) days through the administrative process provided by the Supervisor of Records, Office of the State Secretary, One Ashburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, MA 02108. See M.G.L. c. 66, § 10(b); 950 C.M.R. 32.08.
Sincerely,
Jeremy Warnick
Director of Communications & Media Relations
Cambridge Police Department
125 Sixth Street
Cambridge, MA 02142
From: Saul Tannenbaum
Mr. Warnick,
I appreciate your prompt response to my Public Records request of April 17 seeking "any and all logs, reports, email or other correspondence regarding Cambridge Police Officers encounters with FBI or other Federal law enforcement agencies on the evening of April 18th prior to the shooting of Officer Sean Collier." I understand that you're invoking an investigatory exemption as well as a prohibition from the United States Attorney Office from "disclosing anything about this case to the media".
To avoid any misunderstanding, I'd like to both narrow my request and clarify what I am and am not requesting. I assume "this case" refers to the ongoing prosecution of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev for, among other things, the alleged shooting of Officer Sean Collier. I am specifically not requesting anything regarding that case.
I am, however, requesting materials related to other law enforcement activities in and around Central Square on April 18, 2013. I call your attention to a press release issued through the offices of the FBI on October 18, 2013 (http://www.fbi.gov/boston/press-releases/2013/joint-release-from-massachusetts-law-enforcement-agencies) that states:
The Joint Terrorism Task Force was at M.I.T., located in
Cambridge, Massachusetts, on April 18, 2013, on a matter
unrelated to the Tsarnaev brothers.
Could you explain how the US Attorney's Office prohibition of communication can apply when the FBI states the matter not to be related?
I am also not seeking internal memoranda or investigatory materials. Multiple media reports state that Cambridge Police encountered the FBI in the Central Square area. Neighbors of mine report, for example, an MBTA bus they were on being stopped on Brookline Street, while some sort of law enforcement action took place. I am seeking, only, any reports or log entries of public activities observed by Cambridge officers, activities that can and were seen by citizens.
Thank you in advance for considering this narrower request.
- Saul Tannenbaum
From: Warnick,Jeremy
Mr. Tannenbaum,
As previously noted, there are currently active and on-going investigations relating to the incident you have requested records for. The disclosure of the requested materials and investigative techniques related to these investigations could prejudice the possibility of effective law enforcement such that disclosure would not be in the public interest. To that end, there is also a very real possibility that the release of these materials would compromise the on-going investigative efforts if disclosed. As such, the Cambridge Police Department is invoking the Investigatory Exemption to the Public Records Law with regards to the release of the requested records.
Sincerely,
Jeremy Warnick
Director of Communications & Media Relations
Cambridge Police Department
125 Sixth Street
Cambridge, MA 02142
From: Saul Tannenbaum
Pursuant to the Massachusetts Public Records Law, M.G.L. c.66, §10, I hereby request the following records:
Over two years ago, I submitted the following public records request:
"In a letter to FBI Director James Comey dated October 15 2013, United States Senator Charles Grassley states that "Cambridge Police Department officers encountered multiple teams of FBI employees conducting surveillance in the area of Central Square" on the evening of April 18, 2013. (see: http://www.wcvb.com/blob/view/-/22499770/data/2/-/qiihi9/-/Grassley-Letter.pdf) I request any and all logs, reports, email or other correspondence regarding Cambridge Police Officers' encounters with FBI or other Federal law enforcment agencies on the evening of April 18th prior to the shooting of Officer Sean Collier of the MIT Police."
That request was denied, citing M.G.L. c. 4, § 7(26)(f) – The Investigatory Exemption. As two years have passed and investigations may have closed, I am resubmitting my request. I note that, on April 23, 2016 The Boston Globe published a column (http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/04/23/tracking-gun-that-killed-sean-collier/IL2CIeScpDGAWj0uoSNaHK/story.html) including on-the-record interviews with police and FBI agents regarding the search for the person who supplied the gun that killed Officer Sean Collier. This suggests that the US Attorney's office is no longer requesting that police agencies refrain from comment on this case.
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.
From: Warnick,Jeremy
Good morning, Mr. Tannenbaum.
We are processing this request. Once all of the records are extracted, we will need to review each of the records prior to distribution.
Thank you for your patience.
Jeremy Warnick
Director of Communications
Cambridge Police Department
From: Warnick,Jeremy
Good afternoon, Mr. Tannenbaum.
After conducting a search of records associated with your request, we have attached two responsive documents.
Please let us know if you have any questions.
Jeremy Warnick
Director of Communications
Cambridge Police Department
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