STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE PRESIDENT of the State Police union took a victory lap on Monday after an arbitrator ruled in favor of seven troopers who had remained on unpaid leave after claiming a religious exemption from mandated COVID-19 vaccination two years ago. Against a backdrop of the State House with the governor’s office […]
Law enforcement
Posted inOpinion
Looking at 911 mental health calls in a new way
A SPOUSE, A SISTER, or a brother suffers an acute mental health crisis. Family members call 911 as a last resort. A Boston Globe analysis reports that these calls—there are a lot of them—initiate chains of events that can (and, on an average of five times each year in Massachusetts, do) culminate in a fatal police […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Boston police captain cleared of most charges
A BOSTON POLICE captain who was on paid leave for 2½ years for violating the rules of conduct returned to work earlier this year and then scored a major victory in June when a hearing officer dismissed most of the violations against him and he received just an oral reprimand for the remaining transgressions. The […]
Posted inThe Download
Police escort of officer shuts down SE Expressway
Shortly after 2 p.m. on Monday, I emerged from the Central Artery tunnel in heavy, stop-and-go traffic heading south on the Southeast Expressway. It was clear something was going on because two helicopters were hovering in place high overhead – one over near Boston Medical Center and the other above the expressway itself. As my […]
Posted inTransportation
Police escort of officer shuts down SE Expressway
SHORTLY AFTER 2 p.m. on Monday, I emerged from the Central Artery tunnel in heavy, stop-and-go traffic heading south on the Southeast Expressway. It was clear something was going on because two helicopters were hovering in place high overhead – one over near Boston Medical Center and the other above the expressway itself. As my […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Report finds no racial profiling by Needham police
INVESTIGATORS HIRED by the town of Needham concluded “the weight of the available evidence” suggests four white police officers did not engage in racial profiling last year when they arrested a black man on suspicion of shoplifting at a CVS store, but their report nevertheless raises issues of potential bias. The incident occurred more than […]
Posted inUncategorized
Ruling permits citizen recordings of police
WHILE BEACON HILL legislators haven’t moved yet to address Gov. Charlie Baker’s amendments to policing reform legislation, other efforts to improve law enforcement accountability are moving forward locally and in the courts this week. Earlier this week, the First Circuit Court of Appeals said people can’t be prosecuted under the state’s 1968 wiretapping statute for […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Grappling with ‘driving while black,’ SJC offers help
THE SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT on Thursday issued a ruling that will make it easier for defendants to prove they are the victim of illegal racial profiling when pulled over during a traffic stop. The decision, hailed as a major victory for advocates for racial justice, came on the same day the court released an opinion […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
9 Boston police accused of embezzling $200,000
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE NINE CURRENT current and former Boston police officers were arrested and charged by federal prosecutors Wednesday for allegedly engaging in a years-long scheme to defraud the department of overtime pay. US Attorney Andrew Lelling announced the indictments on charges of conspiracy to commit theft concerning programs receiving federal funds and embezzlement from […]
Posted inOpinion
Police aren’t needed in schools
IN THE AFTERMATH of George Floyd’s killing, Minneapolis has canceled its contract with city police to patrol its schools. Portland and Denver have acted similarly. As we engage in conversations regarding structural reforms to dismantle American apartheid, we have to consider not only how police should be used in schools, but confront the more fundamental […]