Adam Sennott
Wicked Local
City officials will consider the possibility of amending municipal code to restrict the police department’s use of chemical crowd control agents, like tear gas, and kinetic impact projectiles.
Councilors voted Monday night to send the issue to the Ordinance Committee.
The proposed ordinance would prohibit Cambridge police and other law enforcement officers from using chemical crowd control agents against those engaged in a protest, demonstration, or other gathering of more than 10 persons.
Kinetic impact projectiles would also be prohibited unless authorized by a captain, or higher ranking official, who is at the scene of ongoing acts of violence that they have personally witnessed and have determined can’t be controlled in any other way and that de-escalation efforts would not be successful, the order said.
What Cambridge s Public Safety Task Force hopes to accomplish
Maxwell Bevington
Wicked Local
At 5:30 a.m. on a recent rainy Wednesday morning, Councilor Marc McGovern’s doorbell rang. A homeless man was at his doorstep, soaked, and looking for someone to help him find a place to stay. Shelters were at capacity.
McGovern said the only thing he could do is call the police department, but the man said he did not want police involvement and left to find shelter elsewhere. If only there had been another service to call, McGovern said.
This is the sort of situation the new Public Safety Task Force is hoping to address. Appointed Jan. 7 by City Manager Louis DePasquale, the task force has 14 members not including co-chairs McGovern and Councilor E. Denise Simmons who live and work in Cambridge.
Mobile vaccine clinic considered for Cambridge s underserved areas
Adam Sennott
Wicked Local
As the city prepares for general public inoculation as part of Phase 3 of the state s vaccination program, officials will explore the possibility of creating a mobile COVID-19 vaccination program, bringing vaccines directly to residents in underserved communities.
The council asked City Manager Louis DePasquale on Monday night to consider the feasibility of retrofitting existing municipal vehicles or renting vehicles to create a mobile vaccine clinic. The program would help ensure residents of color, low-income residents, and those without adequate transportation to mass vaccinations sites have access to the vaccine.
Wicked Local
Even though a Cambridge-based company created one of the leading COVID-19 vaccines, the city doesn t have its own inoculation site nor does it have access to more doses amid a state-wide shortage.
In fact, the city, one of the largest in the state, was recently capped at 100 weekly doses, as were other Massachusetts municipalities.
So just three days before the Phase 2 rollout Feb. 1, in which residents 75 and older are prioritized, questions heavily outweigh answers.
Some confusion seems to be around the city s role in the rollout. In several communications, the Cambridge Public Health Department stressed that neither the city nor the health department have any control over the vaccine supply. Everything is funneled through the federal government. The fact that Cambridge doesn t have a vaccination site yet has more to do with the supply shortage.