Baker Signs Landmark Massachusetts Policing Reform Law
Gov. Charlie Baker on Thursday signed into law legislation that will create a police accountability and oversight system.
Steven Senne / AP
December 31, 2020
As the year and legislative session come to a close, Gov. Charlie Baker on Thursday signed into law legislation creating a police accountability and oversight system under which officers need to be certified every three years and can lose their certification for violating to-be-developed policing standards.
As the country reacted to the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor at the hands of police officers this summer, policing reform was catapulted to the top of Beacon Hill s priority list and lawmakers set out on what would become a complicated, circuitous and, at times, controversial path to address police violence and some of the disproportionate impacts communities of color experience from law enforcement, and to bolster the state s oversight of police officer
BROCKTON The controversy began with a lawsuit from a disgruntled former employee.
Veteran prosecutor John Bradley sued the Plymouth County district attorney’s office for wrongful termination, alleging his former bosses retaliated against him after he stopped volunteering time and money to District Attorney Timothy Cruz’s reelection campaigns.
The litigation lasted years, generating testimony from former prosecutors and troves of internal documents that offered an unprecedented window into the politics inside the DA’s office, the arm of state government that turns arrests into criminal convictions in Brockton and 26 towns in Plymouth County.
Among the documents entered into the public record were Bradley’s emails thousands of them at the former prosecutor’s own request. And while Bradley won a settlement of $250,000, the emails, which contained scores of inappropriate remarks about defendants he and his colleagues sent to prison, set off a series of unintended
WILLIAMSTOWN â The Williamstown sergeant who filed a federal civil lawsuit alleging bias and sexual harassment within the townâs Police Department has dropped the case, saying through his attorney that he now seeks to fix problems from within.
The action Tuesday in U.S. District Court followed the announcement Monday that Chief Kyle Johnson had resigned, effective that day. Lt. Michael Ziemba is serving as interim chief.
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âAs a result of many people asking difficult questions, and recent actions by the town and the Select Board, [Sgt. Scott McGowan] believes that Williamstown is committed to making the changes necessary to have a Police Department that is run in a way that everyone can be proud of.â
On Monday night, he got his wish. Or, more to the point, he got half of it. If we can get this lawsuit done and over with, I would appreciate it because my community needs to heal, Ansari said during a meeting of the town s Diversity, Inclusion and Racial Equity Committee. It s Christmas. Let s just hope the miracle of Christmas makes this thing go. Police Sgt. Scott McGowan, who in August filed a federal lawsuit against the town, Chief Kyle Johnson and Town Manager Jason Hoch, said Monday night that he would withdraw his suit just after it was announced to the town that Johnson was stepping down from his post.
Massachusetts police certification: What does an officer need to get credentials? What can lead to decertification?
Updated Dec 15, 2020;
The crux of the massive police reform bill in Massachusetts is a system to certify police officers and a process to strip problem cops of those credentials.
The proposal, negotiated after George Floyd’s killing at the hands of Minneapolis police, stirred debates about the use of no-knock warrants, tear gas, K-9 units and other tactics in encounters with civilians. Even the version of the Peace Officer Standards and Training commission designed by legislators has mixed reviews, even though it’s similar to the system proposed by Gov. Charlie Baker in his bill.