Frawley v. Police Commissioner of Cambridge (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-028-16)
NOTICE: All slip opinions and orders are subject to formal revision and are superseded by the advance sheets and bound volumes of the Official Reports. If you find a typographical error or other formal error, please notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Judicial Court, John Adams Courthouse, 1 Pemberton Square, Suite 2500, Boston, MA, 02108-1750; (617) 557-1030; SJCReporter@sjc.state.ma.us SJC-11903 JOSEPH F. FRAWLEY, JR. vs. POLICE COMMISSIONER OF CAMBRIDGE. Middlesex. November 5, 2015. – March 4, 2016. Present: Gants, C.J., Spina, Cordy, Botsford, Lenk, & Hines, JJ. Firearms. Police, Firearms, Retirement. Public Employment, Police. Declaratory Relief. Practice, Civil, Summary judgment, Injunctive relief, Relief in the nature of certiorari. Civil action commenced in the Superior Court Department on November 13, 2012. The case was heard by Douglas H. Wilkins, J., on motions for summary judgment. The Supreme Judicial Court on its own initiative transferred the case from the Appeals Court. Samuel A. Aylesworth, Assistant City Solicitor, for the defendant. James F. Lamond (Dennis M. Coyne with him) for the plaintiff. SPINA, J. When Joseph F. Frawley, Jr., retired on March 4, 2004, from his position as a sergeant with the Cambridge police department (department), the police commissioner for the city of Cambridge (city) issued him a “retired officer identification card” (ID card) that had no expiration date. On December 22, 2011, Frawley applied for the issuance of a replacement ID card because the one in his possession had broken. The successor police commissioner (commissioner) denied the application, stating that Frawley “ha[d] not met the standard set by the Department.” On November 28, 2012, Frawley filed an amended complaint for declaratory and injunctive relief in the Superior Court. He sought a declaration that the commissioner had breached his duty under 501 Code Mass. Regs. §§ 13.00 (2008) (regulations), which set forth the standards for identification cards for retired law enforcement officers, by refusing to issue Frawley a replacement ID card. The ID card, together with a so-called “Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act Training and Certification Card” (training certification card), allows the holder to carry a concealed firearm in accordance with the provisions of the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act of 2004 (LEOSA), Pub. L. No. 108-277, 118 Stat. 865 (2004), codified insofar as relevant here at 18 U.S.C. § 926C (2012). See 501 Code Mass. Regs. § 13.04(2)(a). After determining that Frawley had standing to seek declaratory relief, a judge allowed Frawley’s motion for summary judgment, declaring that he was entitled to receive a replacement ID card because he had retired “in good standing.” Id. at §§ 13.02, 13.03. The commissioner appealed, and we transferred the case to […]