NEMLEC Settles Lawsuit with ACLU

The Northeastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council, Inc. announced today that it has adopted a new public records policy.

The NEMLEC, and its more than 60 municipal chiefs and sheriffs in Middlesex and Essex counties who are members, adopted a new policy regarding public records. The Town of North Reading is an NEMLEC community member, according to the council’s website. The new policy calls for NEMLEC to be subject to public records disclosure and to comply with public records requests under Massachusetts G.L. c. 4, § 7, Twenty-sixth, and G.L. c. 66 § 10, according to a release from the NEMLEC.

The American Civil Liberties Union and the NEMLEC have both filed for an entry of judgement since the new policy was adopted, ending the ACLU’s suit against the council.

“At its core, NEMLEC is a public safety agency, and we hold ourselves to the highest standards of law enforcement. I am proud we were able to come together on this matter, because I firmly believe that both organizations have the same desire for safety and openness,” Laura Nichols, NEMLEC’s Executive Director, said in the release. “We would like to thank all parties involved during this process for their diligence and hard work,”

Attorney Carl Valvo, of Cosgrove, Eisenberg and Kiley, P.C., represented the NEMLEC.