NEWBURYPORT - The city has denied The Daily News access to documents requested under the Freedom of Information Act regarding the suspension of police Sgt. Thomas Cappelluzzo.

Cappelluzzo, one of the department's top-ranking officers, was suspended for three days in late December for an action unbecoming of an officer, Mayor John Moak said.

The mayor said he could not discuss the details of why Cappelluzzo was suspended other than to say there was "personal business being done on city time." Moak said Cappelluzzo was suspended on Dec. 24, 27 and 28 after a hearing on Dec. 17. The suspension can be appealed, Moak said.

The Daily News is seeking records of the internal police investigation into the matter, arguing that state courts have clearly ruled in recent years that such records are public.

Moak said the request was denied on the advice of the city's attorneys, the Boston-based firm of Kopelman and Paige. A letter delivered to the newspaper on Friday from Darren Klein, an attorney with the firm, cited two exemptions in the public records law as reasons for denying the request.

One exemption, section (c) of the law, says that information requests can be denied when dealing with personnel files "and any other material relating to a specifically named individual." The second exemption, section (f) of the law, says files can be denied to protect the names of witnesses and "complainants."

The Daily News will appeal the decision to the state's Supervisor of Public Records, said the newspaper's editor, John Macone. Moak said the city will abide by the supervisor of public records' ruling.

"The courts have ruled that the public has a right to see police internal investigation records, and the secretary of state's office has sent out advisories alerting police and municipal governments," said Macone. "The city lawyer's position seems to ignore these rulings and advisories."

The Freedom of Information Act is designed to give transparency to governmental agencies by allowing citizens access to documents. It is also a common tool used by journalists and citizens to learn information about actions by governmental agencies that take place out of the public eye.

Government agencies can reject a public records request based on several exemptions. But a 2004 court ruling established a distinction between personnel records and police internal investigations.

In that case, involving the Worcester Telegram and Gazette Corporation and Worcester chief of police, Appellate Judge Joseph Grasso's decision said, "an internal affairs investigation is a formalized citizen complaint procedure, separate and independent from ordinary employment evaluation and assessment ... it would be odd, indeed, to shield from the light of public scrutiny as 'personnel [file] or information' the workings and determinations of a process whose quintessential purpose is to inspire public confidence."

Following that decision, state Supervisor of Public Records Alan Cote wrote an advisory to police and public officials, explaining that internal investigations records are public documents.

Cappelluzzo, who was once the city's acting marshal, is also the evening shift supervisor and in charge of firearm licensing, according to the Police Department's Web site.