1033 MOU and annual inventory form (Massachusetts State Police)

To Whom It May Concern:

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

-The current memorandum of agreement (MOA) or memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Massachusetts State Police and the Defense Logistics Agency, Disposition Services regarding the 1033 program administered by the DLA Law Enforcement Support Office

-The annual inventory report required to be completed by MSP as the state coordinator of the 1033 program for Massachusetts, including all attachments

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 calendar days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Shawn Musgrave

Hi David,

For reference, the Ohio state coordinator released the attached spreadsheet of equipment received via the 1033 program.

Please let me know if I can clarify this request further.

Best,
Shawn

Mr. Procopio -

To reiterate, this is a request for an inventory of equipment received by Massachusetts law enforcement agencies via the 1033 program. I've attached once again the inventory spreadsheet as released by the Ohio state coordinator, and cc'd all points of contact for Massachusetts as listed by the Defense Logistics Agency website.

Please let me know if you require any further clarification of my request.

Best,
Shawn

Hello,

Please acknowledge whether this request was received. A number of other states have already released their inventory spreadsheets and MOAs.

Please let me know if I can clarify whatsoever.

Best,
Shawn

Mr. Procopio:

Please acknowledge whether this request has been received. Several other states have released their 1033 inventory data without any issue and have done so expediently.

Respectfully,
Shawn

Dave -

Thanks for confirming. This ought to just be an update of information previously released (although I am asking for an electronic spreadsheet this time, rather than the scanned PDF printout previously released), but let me know if anything requires clarification.

If the MOA is taking a bit of time to pull up and review, I'm fine dropping that portion of the request.

Best,
Shawn

Mr. Procopio -

Checking as to status of this request. Please let me know if I can provide any further clarification as to the inventory spreadsheet. Again, more than 20 states now have released their inventory spreadsheet without redaction and any delay.

Best,
Shawn

Much appreciated.

Best,
Shawn

Hello,

Checking on the below request -- any update? More than 25 states now have released their MOA and inventory spreadsheets without redaction or delay.

Best,
Shawn

Mr. Procopio -

Please advise as to the status of this request, which was due more than a week ago. More than 25 state coordinators of the 1033 program have released their inventory spreadsheets without delay or redaction. Please confirm whether MSP will do the same for Massachusetts.

Respectfully,
Shawn Musgrave

Mr. Procopio -

I have not received any update to this request despite several attempts. The request is now considerably overdue. Please advise.

As of today, a total of 29 state coordinators of the 1033 program have released full spreadsheets that indicate which state and local law enforcement agencies received excess military equipment from the Defense Logistics Agency:

-Arizona
-Arkansas
-California
-Colorado
-Connecticut
-Florida
-Georgia
-Idaho
-Indiana
-Iowa
-Kansas
-Maryland
-Minnesota
-Mississippi
-Missouri
-Montana
-Nebraska
-Nevada
-New Mexico
-North Dakota
-Ohio
-Oklahoma
-Oregon
-South Carolina
-Tennessee
-Texas
-Utah
-Washington
-Wisconsin

I urge MSP to follow suit and to facilitate transparency of state and local governance. Please let me know if I can provide any further clarification or information to further this request.

Respectfully,

Shawn Musgrave
MuckRock

Mr. Procopio -

I will be submitting an appeal to SPR this afternoon if I do not receive a satisfactory answer as to the delay regarding this request. Per the message I sent yesterday, the majority of states have already provided this information regarding the 1033 program without delay or redaction. Furthermore, MSP has already provided similar documentation of the 1033 program in response to past records requests.

Please advise immediately as to the status of this request.

Respectfully,

Shawn Musgrave
MuckRock

Supervisor of Records
Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth
McCormack Building, Room 1719
One Ashburton Place
Boston, MA 02108

September 15, 2014

To Whom It May Concern:

This is an appeal for constructive denial of the below request for public records. I submitted this request for documents related to the 1033 program to the Massachusetts State Police on August 18. It took several days for MSP to acknowledge the request, and it now stands overdue. I have attempted to obtain an update for the request by email to Mr. Procopio, who has ceased responding.

As I have reiterated to Mr. Procopio, more than 30 states have released the documents I am requesting in full and without the delay MSP has created:

-Alaska
-Arizona
-Arkansas
-California
-Colorado
-Connecticut
-Florida
-Georgia
-Idaho
-Indiana
-Iowa
-Kansas
-Maryland
-Minnesota
-Mississippi
-Missouri
-Montana
-Nebraska
-Nevada
-New Mexico
-North Dakota
-Ohio
-Oklahoma
-Oregon
-South Carolina
-Tennessee
-Texas
-Utah
-Washington
-Wisconsin

Furthermore, MSP has already provided data on equipment distributed to Massachusetts law enforcement agencies via the 1033 program. Last November, MSP released the attached inventory of equipment received by Massachusetts state and local law enforcement agencies via the 1033 program. (This document can also be viewed online at: https://www.muckrock.com/foi/massachusetts-1/program-1033-aircraft-armored-vehicle-and-weapons-requests-ma-7020/). In response to a related request last winter, MSP also released a comprehensive listing of participating agencies in Massachusetts.

MSP's footdragging on this request for 1033 data and the state's MOA with the Defense Logistics Agency is unacceptable and contrary to transparency, accountability and open governance. Please remand this request back to MSP for immediate release of the requested documents, per the agency's obligations under Massachusetts public records law.

Respectfully,

Shawn Musgrave
MuckRock

Ms. Rastellini -

Below please find an appeal sent today by mail to the SPR for this public records request to the Massachusetts State Police. This request is now considerably overdue, and MSP has ceased responding to requests for followup.

Please confirm receipt, and let me know if I can provide any further clarification.

Best,
Shawn Musgrave
MuckRock

Ms. Rastellini -

Please disregard the previous emailed appeal, as Mr. Procopio has now provided a substantive response. I will review and get back in touch as necessary.

Thank you.

Best,
Shawn

Mr. Procopio -

I urge Massachusetts to follow the lead of more than 30 other states, including California, Florida, Texas, Maryland and Connecticut, in releasing full 1033 data.

Please advise whether MSP will reconsider this determination without need for appeal to the Supervisor of Records. Again, MSP has substantively provided this precise data in the past — the distinction between equipment requested and equipment received as outlined in MSP's response is an arbitrary one.

Thank you for your commitment to government transparency and accountability, and for your quick response on this matter so that I may submit an appeal to SPR and consult legal counsel if necessary.

Respectfully,
Shawn Musgrave
MuckRock

Ms. Rastellini -

Below please find an appeal of partial rejection of this request for documents regarding the 1033 program. A copy will also be mailed to you the SPR at the address indicated.

Best,
Shawn Musgrave
MuckRock

Ms. Rastellini -

Thank you for confirming receipt promptly!

MSP final response attached.

Best,
Shawn

Ms. Rastellini -

Thank you for confirming receipt promptly!

MSP final response attached.

Best,
Shawn

You’re very welcome and thank you Shawn.

Supervisor of Public Records
Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth
Public Records Division
One Ashburton Place, 17th Floor
Boston, MA 01208

October 1, 2014

To Whom It May Concern:

This is an appeal for partial denial of the below request for public records.

I submitted this request for documents related to the 1033 program to the Massachusetts State Police on August 18. In a letter dated September 12 (attached), MSP provided a copy of its memorandum of agreement with the Defense Logistics Agency, but refused to provide a comprehensive inventory of equipment transferred to Massachusetts law enforcement via the 1033 program.

As I have reiterated to Mr. Procopio, as of this writing a total of 35 states have released the documents I am requesting in full:

Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Florida
Georgia
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Maryland
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Mexico
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Washington
Wisconsin

Furthermore, MSP has already provided data on equipment distributed to Massachusetts law enforcement agencies via the 1033 program. Last November, MSP released the attached inventory of equipment received by Massachusetts state and local law enforcement agencies via the 1033 program. (This document can also be viewed online at: https://www.muckrock.com/foi/massachusetts-1/program-1033-aircraft-armored-vehicle-and-weapons-requests-ma-7020/). In response to a related request last winter, MSP also released a comprehensive listing of participating Massachusetts law enforcement agencies.

MSP has cited exemption (n) as well as Supervisor of Public Record Opinion SPR13/257 to support its claim that to release the requested inventory would "undermine public safety as it relates to security measures and emergency preparedness." The Massachusetts public records statute — and exemption (n) specifically — puts determinations of releasability of law enforcement records under the review of the supervisor of public records.

As such, I ask that you remand this request back to MSP for full release of the requested records. Beside the comprehensive data MSP itself released regarding 1033 program requests submitted by Massachusetts law enforcement agencies, a number of police departments have themselves disclosed such details of equipment received from the Pentagon.

See, for reference, the following news articles summarizing police department disclosures of equipment received via the 1033 program:

www.bostonmagazine.com/news/blog/2014/10/01/state-police-departments-got-tanks-pentagon/

http://www.wickedlocal.com/article/20140822/NEWS/140828321/12715/NEWS?template=printart

http://cohasset.wickedlocal.com/article/20140919/NEWS/140915762

http://www.whdh.com/story/26341782/local-police-say-military-equipment-is-necessary-to-protect

http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20140826/NEWS/408260320

http://www.thesunchronicle.com/rehoboth/rehoboth-adds-hummers/article_8cf441b0-b757-58a6-aee7-03b26cec4105.html

Furthermore, a number of departments answered similar records requests or media requests submitted directly to them without invoking exemption (n) or suggesting that disclosure of equipment receipts would jeopardize public safety or their emergency preparedness.

In light of the considerable nationwide scrutiny of the 1033 program and its transfer of military equipment to state and local police, transparency is crucial to a public assessment of the operations of the program within our state. Massachusetts ought to join the vast majority of states that have upheld principles of openness in law enforcement by releasing a full accounting of which departments received equipment from the Department of Defense.

Respectfully,

Shawn Musgrave
MuckRock

Ms. Rastellini -

I wanted to check whether there was an estimated completion date for this appeal.

I also wanted to provide an update on my ongoing efforts to determine from individual police departments and law enforcement agencies around Massachusetts which equipment each had received via the 1033 program. Most significantly, the state Department of Corrections confirmed to me this morning that it received an M106 mortar carrier. This puts DOC in the company of Rehobeth and New Bedford police, both of which voluntarily disclosed receipt of heavily armored tactical vehicles, as well as the more than a dozen departments that have disclosed receipt of assault rifles and grenade launchers.

Each of these departments does not see fit to withhold 1033 acquisition data from the people of Massachusetts. As state coordinator of the taxpayer-funded 1033 program, MSP ought to follow suit and release this information for public vetting.

Please let me know if I can provide any further information.

Best,

Shawn Musgrave
MuckRock

Mr. White -

Please provide an update on the status of this appeal. Furthermore, if MSP has been consulted regarding the requested records, I formally request equal opportunity to present my case for release of the requested records.

Best,
Shawn Musgrave
MuckRock

Mr. White and MSP Legal:

Yesterday, a panel commissioned by President Obama released its findings regarding the need for increased scrutiny of the 1033 program and similar federal programs that provide funding or direct equipment transfers to law enforcement nationwide.

The report is available online here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/12/01/fact-sheet-strengthening-community-policing

In part, the report found that: "Both law enforcement and civil rights stakeholders agreed that there is often insufficient transparency to decisions surrounding the acquisition of equipment. These programs often permit LEAs to request equipment outside of a local government’s standard budget process and without civilian (non-police) government approval. Local elected officials are frequently not involved in the decision-making, and the general public is similarly unaware of what their LEAs possess."

In the spirit of promoting public accountability regarding the equipment that law enforcement agencies have received via the 1033 program, I once again respectfully ask that you release an unredacted spreadsheet of such equipment transfers. To date, 38 states have released this information. I urge Massachusetts to follow suit and help facilitate the productive dialogue around the 1033 program and its future that is only possible by evaluating the program's operation in detail.

Thank you for your consideration, and I look forward to hearing from you.

Respectfully,

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 Aug. 18, 2014. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #SPR14:554.

Thank you for your help.