City of Lynn Police Department Kevin F Coppinger Chief of Police 500 Washington Stroot, Lyam, Massachucotts 01002-4718 (71)505-2000 Fas (781)477-7069 Leonard E Desmarais Elnabeth A Polonsky Michael A. Mageary Deputy Chill alice Confidential Anitant Deputy Chet of Police November 17, 2014 Maya Schaffer 49 Heritage Lane, Apt. A10 Leominster, MA 01453 Dear Ms. Shaffer, ‘As requested per your e-mail of September 24, 2014, I have caused an investigation into the alleged incidents of September 5 and September 8. ‘The following is a brief summary of the major points of that investigation: Upon learning of the complaint, I personally contacted you via telephone on September 9, 2014 and left a message. You have not retuned my call. As part of our public safety responsibilities, the Lynn Police Department has « duty to monitor any type of public assembly (o help ensure the safety of those involved in the assembly as well as the general public who may be in the immediate area. Lynn Police Accident Report #14068410, 585 Essex Street. Sergeant Edward Shinnick was assigned to investigate the accident in the Richdale Store parking lot and has filed his report, It should be noted that he attempted several times to obtain a direct statement from you but you declined his requests. Video evidence was secured and reviewed from different sources including what you provided to the department. None of the videos show actual contact. It does appear your tripod made contact with the driver’s side mirror of the vehicle, It is inconclusive as to fault in how the mirror was dislodged, Your may obtain a copy of the accident report by contacting the Records Office. © Lynn Police Detective Michael DiMeglio was the operator of the Toyota Camry that you approached in the Richdale lot, ‘The investigation. revealed that the officer failed to follow department policy when reporti a motor vehicle accident. ‘The officer was disciplined in regards to the matter, Additional discussions were had with his supervisor regarding a review of the proper procedures that need to be followed in these matters.‘© Of September 8, 2014, at 1141 hours, you came to the front desk of the Lynn Police Station to file a complaint regarding the above referenced accident with Lieutenant James Shorten, Commanding Officer of the Third Division on that date. Lieutenant Shorten documented your complaint and forwarded it up through the chain of command. As part of your complaint, you provided us with a video of the incident including a full desetiption of Detective DiMeglio’s cruiser. Itis my understanding that Lieutenant Shorten informed you a follow up investigation would be done and someone from the department would be in contact you in that regard. ©. The Lynn Police Department has a detailed policy in place that outlines procedures to be followed when a citizen complaint is made. It has been a Tong time poliey of this department to accept and investigate all complaints made against department personnel. Lieutenant Shorten accepted your complaint in compliance with the policy. * Ir-should be noted that on October 6 I sent you a written request for copies of any and all video you may have during interactions with officers of our department as well as a request for the identity of the individual who accompanied you to the station and was a witness to your allegations, As of this date, you have declined my request to provide that material and information. = The rear lot of the Lynn Police Station is posted “No Trespassing, Authorized Personnel Only” for a variety of public safety and secutity reasons. Your presence in the lot was technically a violation of law. It is my opinion that our officers used good judgement in not making any arrests based on the totality of the ‘circumstances on that date, However, you were not authorized to be in that area and I would suggest you refrain from repeating such actions in the future, ‘© [disagree with your allegation that the officers involved were “blocking ‘complaints and blocking reports of serious incidents", As noted above, Lieutenant Shorten had already documented your complaint and advised you that a follow up investigation would be conducted. You had already provided us with a detailed description of Detective DiMeglio’s vehicle via the statement and video you gave to the lieutenant. + Talso disagree with your allegation that Sergeant ‘Thomas McDermott forced you to leave the station lobby without allowing you to make your report or complaint. As noted above, you had already so when you spoke with Lieutenant Shorten and he documented your concems. The sergeant also told you that someone from the department would be in contact with you regarding the follow up. There were other people in the station lobby trying to do business with the front desk officer and who were delayed in their endeavors because of your actions. + Officers David Fitzgerald and Ralph Sirois were the police officers you spoke with in the lobby. Officer Fitzgerald was trying to compile information in regards to why you were in the rear Jot. ‘You refused Officer Fitzgerald’s request to identify yourself after technically trespassing in the rear lot. Your associate also 2refused to identify himself, Based on the (otality of the eireumstances, the officers used their discretion by identifying themselves with their badge numbers instead of their identification cards. + All Lynn Police Officers are trained in the laws pertaining to officer identification and citizen videotaping. However, as noted in your e-mail, one member of our civilian support staff was not aware of this, ur support staff has been briefed on the legality of such actions, * The Lynn Police Department is well aware of the Public Records Laws and our Records Office personnel frequently attend trainings in this area. While I do acknowledge that we were one day late in responding to your September 8 request, that extra day was used fo help accurately provide you with the cost estimate you received. Respeptfully, i svin F. Copyftgée a of Poli Thank you.City of Lynn Police Department Kevin F. Coppinger Chief of Police 300 Washington Street Lynn Massachusetts 01002-4718 (781}505-2000 Fax (781) 477-7009 Leonard E Desmacais Blabeth A Polossky Michael A Mogoary Depp Chief Pater Condes! Auta Deputy Chiff Pace October 6, 2014 Ms. Maya Shaffer 49 Heritage Lane, Apt. A10 Leominster, MA 01453 Re: Incident of September 8, 2014 Dear Ms, Shaffer: ‘As you are aware, Sergeant Edward Shinnick of our-Traffic Unit is investigating the accident of September 5, 2014, in the Richdale Store parking lot, 585 Washington Street. "That investigation is still open, as it is my understanding he is still waiting on a formal statement from you. In regards to the complaint about your visit to the Lynn Police Station on September 8, 2014 that you sent to me on September 24, 2014, I notified you on September 26, 2014. that we ‘were reviewing those allegations. In order to complete this review in proper fashion, it is my understanding that there is additional video that has not been provided to our department as of yet. This video was taken by the male who was present with you in our lobby. Please provide the idetitity of this individual so that I may contact him fo obtain a copy of any and all video recordings he may have in reference to your complaint. Since he was present during the interaction with Lynn Police officers, I would also like to obtain a statement from him. Before closing, Iam also requesting a copy of any and all video recordings you may have that relate to any and all interactions you may have had with members of this department. Your assistance with the ‘above requests will greatly help us conduct a thorough’ and complete review of these incidents. ‘Thank you for your time aiid cooperation. Clef of Poli KFClepTo the records handler for the Lynn Police, ‘This is a request under the Massachusetts Public Records Law (M, G. L. Chapter 66, Section 10) for records. As you may be aware, the Public Records Law requires you to provide me with a written response within 10 calendar days. If you cannot comply with my request, you are statutorily required to provide an explanation in writing. An officer drove a Toyota Camry (plate Is MA 13MD82) into me, Maya Shaffer, in the Richdale parking lot: I would like any document related to who was driving the car including but not limited to any paperwork who the vehicle was assigned to at the time of the incident. | would like any documents related to the officer's fitness to dive a vehicle including but not limited to any training documents related to driving and any certifications the Lynn police has on file for the officer. Ail documents generated regarding the incident on September 5" 2014 when an officer hit Maya Shaffer with the mirror of a Toyota Camry in the Richdale parking lot near the police station. The plate Is MA 13MD82. This includes but is not limited to: any police log upon which the Incident was entered, any incident or after action report on the incident, any recording of any radio or phone calls about the incident, all notes written about the incident, any Emails internal or otherwise generated about the incident, any other communication by any officer regarding the incident, any records of any kind regarding statements made about the incident by Lynn police, any repair bills, and any video of the police officer returning the vehicle to the station and/or repairing or inspecting the damage to the driver's side mirror. ‘Acopy of any breathalyzer test (or any other test run) of the officer completed upon his return to the station, Accopy of the officer's tA file, A copy of any arrest reports from the last two years made by any Lynn police officer where the arrest included hitting a pedestrian (non-fatally) with a motor vehicle, and any documents regarding charges filed for the same. ‘Any use of force policy dealing with motor vehicles regarding either when/if an officer should use his vehicle in an offensive manner, or in regards to how an officer should/should not respond to a vehicle being driven at/into them, Any use of force policy that dictates how the officer would have handled someone driving into him, Any use of force policy that applies to the incident as it occurred.Please provide a list ofall documents that my request applies to as soon as possible. | recognize that you ‘may charge reasonable costs for copies, as well as for personnel time needed to comply with this request. If you expect costs to exceed $10.00, please provide a detailed fee estimate. I would prefer that the requested document be provided in an electronic format, by email attachment if possible or CD-ROM if not. I would appreciate it if you waived any fees associated with the fulfillment of this request, as recommended by the Massachusetts Supervisor of Public Records. The requested documents are intended for news media purposes and will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of a public information service. IF you withhold any of the requested records under an exemption to the public records law, please provide an itemized list of the exempt records, specify which exemptions you are citing, and articulate why the exemption applies to the record in question. \ appreciate your time and consideration. I look forward to your anticipated cooperation in fulfilling this public records request within the next 10 days. Yours truly, Maya Shaffer The Bay State Examiner P.O. Box 5171 Framingham, MA 01701 Electronic documents may be sent to: bavstateexaminer@gmall.com, Hand delivered on 9/3/14,