BOSTON
- Tuesday, October 13, 2020 - Mayor Martin J. Walsh today announced the
final recommendations of the Boston
Police Reform Task Force, and immediate next steps the city will be
taking to enact reforms, in keeping with the timelines outlined through the
recommendations. The Task Force was charged with reviewing a set of current
Boston Police Department's policies and procedures, and presenting
recommendations for action and reform. Mayor Walsh charged the Task Force
with four main areas of review: Use of Force policies; Implicit Bias Training,
the Body-worn Camera Program, and the Community Ombudsman Oversight Panel
(CO-OP). The
Task Force today released the following recommendations: - Create an independent Office of
Police Accountability and Transparency ("OPAT") with full
investigatory and subpoena power, i.e. the ability to call
witnesses and to compel the discovery of documents.
- Formalize and expand the BPD's
commitment to diversity and inclusion through the creation of a
Diversity & Inclusion unit.
- Expand the BPD's adoption of
the body-worn camera program and continue to ban the use of biometrics
and facial recognition software.
- Enhance the BPD's Use of Force
policies
(Rule 303, Rule 303A, Rule 303B, Rule 304) so that they articulate
clear and enforceable disciplinary code of consequences for violations
and infractions and hold the BPD publicly accountable for the
violation of these policies.
- Adopt practices that maximize
accountability, transparency and public access to the BPD.
The
full recommendations are available on boston.gov/policereform,
and have been translated into five languages. "We
must be a city and a country where every single person receives equal
protection and equitable opportunity," said Mayor Walsh. "We must
commit now to transformational, systemic change. This Task Force is led by
individuals from Boston's Black and Brown communities who are leaders on
Civil Rights; experts on public safety; and activists for racial justice,
and I thank them for their tireless work on creating this report. Now it is
Boston's charge to take these bold reforms and use the Task Force's
recommendations to create a better, more just city." Mayor
Walsh today took immediate action to support and enact the Task Force
recommendations. These include: Pledged to Form the Office of Police Accountability and
Transparency Mayor
Walsh today committed to, within the coming weeks, taking the necessary
steps to create the key new office recommended by the Task Force: the
Office of Police Accountability and Transparency (OPAT), including a
Civilian Review Board with subpoena power. The new OPAT structure will
include a Civilian Review Board, absorb the IAOP as part of its office,
and, critically, give subpoena power to the OPAT commission. These
structures are key parts of the Task Force's final recommendations. Mayor
Walsh announced he will in the coming weeks reconstitute the current CO-OP
board, and adopt the Task Force's recommended reform to a redesigned panel
that will be known as the Internal Affairs Oversight Panel (IAOP). The IAOP
will be empowered to review completed internal affairs investigations at
its discretion and without limitation to the number of investigations it
may review. This panel will then become part of the Office of Police
Accountability and Transparency (OPAT). Hire an Executive Director for the Office of Police
Accountability and Transparency (OPAT) The
City of Boston today began the process of searching for an executive
director to lead the Office of Accountability and Transparency (OPAT), and
the job will be posted on boston.gov/careers this
week. The Executive Director will lead the Executive Administration, a
branch within the OPAT structure. The City is launching a search to find an
executive director who is a member of the Massachusetts bar, and is
equipped to lead this pivotal new office, bring on staff members, and
execute its charge. Create a Diversity & Inclusion Unit within the Boston
Police Department Through
Boston's newly-created Office of Equity, Chief of Equity Karilyn Crockett
has been charged with working with Boston Police Commissioner Gross to
create a Diversity & Inclusion Unit within the Boston Police
Department. This work includes updating their internal policies to reflect
the Departments commitments to equity and bias-free policing, and will
begin immediately. Pledged to File Home Rule Petitions to Enact Civil Service
Reforms Mayor
Walsh committed to filing home rule petitions at the Massachusetts State
House, which, if passed by the Legislature, would allow the City of Boston
to enact the Task Force's civil service reform recommendations. This
change will allow the Boston Police Department to adopt a hiring preference
for high school graduates who have received a degree through the Boston
Public School systems, METCO, or schools in the Boston Compact. Such a
preference would have the advantage of both increasing opportunities for
diversity within BPD and ensuring the staff of the department have a strong
connection to, and deep knowledge of, the local community and diversity of
Boston's neighborhoods. "This
Task Force has worked incredibly hard to create these final
recommendations, and lay out a plan for real reforms in the Boston Police
Department," said Task Force Chairman Wayne Budd. "I'm proud of
the community voices that went into these reforms, and look forward to
seeing these reforms become a reality in Boston." In
addition to Mayor Walsh's commitments today, the Boston Police Department
will continue its ongoing work to support the Task Force recommendations
that began before the Task Force's creation, and continued throughout the
months of the Task Force's work. Mayor
Walsh has previously committed his full support of body cameras being worn
by officers during all shifts, including overtime, and Boston Police are
actively working toward that goal. In addition, Mayor Walsh announced that
moving forward the Boston Police Department no longer uses the hair test
for evidence of drug use in officers or recruits, a decision that was made
in partnership with the police unions. In
June, Mayor Walsh signed the "Mayor's Pledge" issued by the Obama
Foundation's My Brother's Keeper Alliance as one of the strategies to
address racism
as an emergency and public health crisis. The Mayor committed the City
of Boston to review police use of force policies; engage communities by
including a diverse range of input experiences and stories; report review
findings to the community and seek feedback; and reform police use of force
policies. The Boston Police Reform Task Force is composed of members from
the community, law enforcement, advocacy organizations, and the legal
profession, to ensure that these commitments are translated to actions.
Over the summer, the Task Force hosted a series of community listening
sessions to gather community feedback related to police reform. "The
Boston Police Department prides itself on our community-first policing
model, and I have made building trust in our communities my priority as
Police Commissioner," said Boston Police Commissioner William Gross.
"This report is an opportunity for us to listen to the community, and
lead with the changes they want and need. We are committed to working
collaboratively with leaders across the Administration, across the community,
and on this Task Force, to become an even stronger, more diverse, more open
and accountable police force." On
June 11, 2020, Boston Police Commissioner William Gross announced he
completed a review of Boston Police's policies against the recommended use
of force policies outlined in the "8 Can't Wait" effort,
resulting in clarified rules and the implementation of several reforms. In
addition, as part of Mayor Walsh's Fiscal Year 2021 (FY21) budget, Mayor
Walsh allocated 20% or $12 million of the Boston Police Department's
overtime budget to make a significant investment in equity and inclusion
across the City. These
final recommendations represent the tireless work of the Boston Police Task
Force members, and valuable feedback from the Boston community. Throughout
its process, the Task Force held five separate public listening sessions,
and received over 100 pieces of testimony from the community, over the
course of two written comment periods. Members
of the Boston Police Task Force include: Chair,
Wayne Budd, Senior
Counsel, Goodwin LLP & Former U.S. Attorney for the District of
Massachusetts Reverend
Jeffrey Brown, Associate
Pastor, Historic Twelfth Baptist Church, Roxbury Allison
S. Cartwright, Attorney in
Charge, Roxbury Defender's Office Eddy
Chrispin, Boston Police
Department, Sergeant & President of MAMLEO Jamarhl
Crawford, Boston Resident Joseph
D. Feaster, Jr., Chairman
of the Board, Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts Javier
Flores, Dinsmore &
Shohl, LLP Darrin
Howell, President, DRIVE
Boston Community Resources Inc. & 1199SEIU Marie
St. Fleur, Former MA State
Representative, Boston Tanisha
M. Sullivan, Esq. President,
NAACP Boston Branch Superintendent
Dennis White, Chief of
Staff, Boston Police Department This
report reflects the contributions of hundreds of people and is the result
of a collaborative process. The Task Force is grateful to everyone
who participated in the process. The Task Force thanks the residents of
Boston who actively participated in this process. Their participation
helped to ensure that these recommendations reflect residents' voice and
will. Additionally,
the Task Force consulted with a number of stakeholders, advocates,
practitioners, and subject matter experts during the research and drafting
of these recommendations. It wishes to thank them for their generous
contribution of time and expertise. The Task Force appreciates:
Branville G. Bard, Jr., Commissioner, Cambridge Police Department; Larry
Mayes, Former CO-OP Panel Member; Natashia Tidwell, Former CO-OP Panel
Member; Julien Mendele, Esq., Boston CO-OP Panel Member; Christina Miller,
Esq., Boston CO-OP Panel Member; Jassie Senwah, Boston CO-OP Panel Member;
Meredith Shih, Esq., Boston CO-OP Panel Member; the Honorable Regina
Quinlan (Ret.), Boston CO-OP Panel Member; Susan Lee, Deputy Mayor of
Public Safety, Chicago Civilian Office of Police Accountability; Johnathan
Darche, New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board; Jerika Richardson,
New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board; Yojaira Alvarez, New York
City Civilian Complaint Review Board; Dr. Atiya Martin, All Aces, Inc; Dr.
Tracie L. Keesee, Center For Policing Equity; John Gibbons, United States
Marshal District of Massachusetts; Maria Cheevers, Director of Research and
Development, Boston Police Department; Jenna Savage, Deputy Director of
Research and Development, Boston Police Department; Jen Maconochie, Director
of Strategic Initiatives & Policies, Boston Police Department; Segun
Idowu, Executive Director, Black Economic Council of MA and Co-Founder,
Boston Police Camera Action Team; Shekia Scott, Co-Founder, Boston Police
Camera Action Team; Rahsaan Hall, Director, Racial Justice Program, ACLU of
MA; Rachael Rollins, Suffolk County District Attorney; Jack McDevitt,
Director of Northeastern University Institute on Race and Justice; Carla
Sheffield, mother of Burrell Ramsey; Patricia Ramsey, sister of Burrell
Ramsey; Gloria McMullen, mother of Mark McMullen; Chris McMullen, brother
of Mark McMullen; Karen McMullen, sister of Mark McMullen; Kety Fernandes,
wife of Mark McMullen; Avery Homer, niece of Mark McMullen; Simon
Fernandes, son of Mark McMullen; Keith Antonio; Kim Janey, Boston City
Councilor, District 7 and Boston City Council President; Jacob Leidolf, web
/ graphic designer and data consultant; Adam Friedman, President of Civera
Software; Howard Friedman, Law Offices of Howard Friedman PC; Chris Faraone,
Boston Institute of Non-Profit Journalism; Andrea Campbell, Boston City
Councillor, District 4; Larry Ellison, former President, MAMLEO; William
"Billy" Celester, former President, MAMLEO; Charles Yancey,
former Boston City Councillor, District 4; and Professor Roger
Goldman, St. Louis University School of Law. The
Task Force wishes to thank Lon Povich, Lily Ricci and Amber Aspinall of
Anderson & Kreiger LLP and RJ ("Jack" ) Cinquegrana, Danielle
Pelot, Diana Lloyd, and Christine Savage of Choate, Hall & Stewart LLP,
who contributed invaluable research to the Task Force. The
Task Force also thanks its legal counsel, Marielle Sanchez, Esq., of
Goodwin, LLP for her outstanding contributions to this work. https://www.boston.gov/departments/mayors-office/bostons-movement-end-racism/boston-police-reform-task-force |
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