Area police chiefs embrace reform bill, with reservations
Counterprotesters close down Main Street traffic during a pro-Trump rally in Northampton, Nov. 1. GAZETTE FILE PHOTO
Protesters listen to a speaker during a rally June 17 at Pulaski Park in Northampton. GAZETTE FILE PHOTO
Amherst Police Chief Scott Livingstone speaks at town hall in February 2015. GAZETTE FILE PHOTO
Northampton Police Chief Jody Kasper GAZETTE FILE PHOTO
By SCOTT MERZBACH
By the end of this week, Gov. Charlie Baker will decide whether to sign, veto or amend a policing reform bill that could set a series of standards for how police departments operate across Massachusetts.
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On Dec. 8, Officer Kevin Gena, representing the Concord Police Department, joined police department representatives from around the commonwealth at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough and picked up “Coats4Vets Buckets” provided by the Massachusetts Military Support Foundation Inc. (MMSF).
Each bucket contained coats, masks, hand sanitizer and snacks. This distribution method also help local authorities connect with veterans in their communities.
Through this program, MMSF distributes coats to veterans in need to help make sure they are safe from the winter weather. Coats4Vets is made possible through donations from Ocean State Job Lot Charitable Foundation.
Bridgewater Police Department participates in Coats4Vets Buckets
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Chief Christopher D. Delmonte recently announced that the Bridgewater Police Department participated in the Massachusetts Military Support Foundation s event Coats4Vets Buckets on Dec. 8.
The event was organized by the Massachusetts Military Support Foundation in partnership with local police departments, state police barracks and local sheriff s departments to help distribute coats to veterans in need.
Local police officers from the state s 351 cities and towns convoyed in police cruisers and other police vehicles to Gillette Stadium to retrieve their buckets. Each bucket contains a coat, masks, hand sanitizer and snacks that will be distributed to veterans in local officers cities and towns. Police officers from across the state will then give out the buckets as a way to engage and connect with homeless veterans in their communities.
Hiring new police officers never has been easy. In the middle of a pandemic, after a summer of racial justice protests, some police chiefs in Berkshire County say that process only has gotten harder.
In North Adams, Police Chief Jason Wood nearly canceled a recent entrance exam over a lack of applicants. Just 10 people signed up to take the exam, Wood said, compared with more than 40 interested applicants the previous time the department offered the test.
What gives?
Wood thinks part of the hesitation might be the coronavirus itself, given that the exam was in person. Also, the department did not advertise the test on college campuses this year, because of COVID-19 safety restrictions.
To protect and to serve veterans: Lawrence police officer to help ex-military in department, city eagletribune.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from eagletribune.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.