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Public Records Division denies Fall River Police Department’s request to bill Fall River Reporter $48 an hour for public records
The Fall River Police Department (FRPD) asked the Secretary of State’s Public Records Division for permission to charge Fall River Reporter nearly twice the $25 an hour rate for public information requests, but was quickly denied by the Supervisor of Records. This is the first time Fall River Reporter has ever been asked to pay for a public records and comes shortly after we published From “One of the Best” to Targeted: How Fall River Police Department Weaponized a Warrant Against Ex-FRPD Officer.
The Request
In response to three public records requests over a 9 day period, the FRPD sent the following email to the Secretary of State’s Public Records Division on Friday, March 27.
The Response
In response the following Monday, the Public Records Division denied the FRPD’s request to bill Fall River Reporter more than the $25 an hour rate. (Of note, state law provides that the first two hours of public record requests are at no charge).
What did I request that they need to bill me $48.37 an hour?
– I requested how many police officers have left the FRPD since Oct 2024 and details of where they worked and how many years they served. (Note: I’ve been told up to 20 police officers have retired since Chief Furtado took over and I was trying to confirm this).
– Second, I asking for the investigation report that was completed by retired FRPD chief Jack Souza regarding drugs found in a police officer’s desk. (Note: This investigation was completed years ago and should be available to the public).
– Finally, FRPD Chief Furtado stated on WSAR that there is a video tape of two FRPD officers confirming that they picked up the John Perry Report from Mayor Coogan’s office. This goes against what police officers on record have told me just a month ago. Fall River Reporter has asked to view the tapes many times in 2025 and Chief Furtado has canceled our appointments twice. We are simply asking for the video.
Here’s the response from the Secretary of State’s Public Records Division:
Next you’ll see the the Supervisor of Records denies the FRPD their request
The Supervisor of Records even encourages the FRPD communicate directly with me.
Not only has the FRPD not communicated directly with me (I sent them an email after this letter was sent to them) they have appealed the decision to further delay my access to my three requests.
It is my belief that the City of Fall River, and now the FRPD, are not very transparent and force people to jump through hurdles to get access to public documents. Mayor Coogan used the courts to block the John Perry report, forcing The Herald News to spend over $100,000 over 18-months to get a judge to force the release. The City of Fall River had to pay The Herald News much of the money back in a settlement. This also aligns with Massachusetts winning the Society of Professional Journalists’ 2026 Black Hole Award due to the state “demonstrating a troubling lack of transparency and disregard for the public’s right to know.”
John Perry report mystery continues
In June of last year, I asked the FRPD if the John Perry Report was ever sent to them through an official public records request. Here’s the timestamp:
It went into legal review and without any response it was closed out while in “sent for Legal Review” status.
A public record request regarding John Perry simply closed out without a response and now delayed with an attempt to overcharge me continues to reinforce that I’m on to something.
Up next: There is no proof the John Perry Report was ever sent to the FRPD.
