Time and again, the Boston Police Department has proved it canât be trusted to police itself The department needs transparency and accountability. But that wonât happen in a vacuum. It requires hands-on leadership. By Andrea J. CampbellUpdated April 20, 2021, 12:13 p.m. Email to a Friend Smoke rises around Boston police on May 31, 2020, as they use pepper spray during a Black Lives Matter protest.JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images If Boston is going to change, it needs a police department that leads the nation in transparency and accountability. But it also needs leadership that insists on it. As the Globe recently reported, for more than two decades, the Boston Police Department protected Patrick M. Rose Sr., a former president of the Boston Police Patrolmenâs Association who has been charged with molesting children, allowing him to continue to serve in their ranks and even engage with children.