Taken from that vehicle was two ballistic vests with two magazines in the pouches, along with some K9 gear, and a first aid bag. Holyoke Massachusetts & Pennsylvania Legal Representation. Nine of those 12 are in specialized assignments other than patrol operations. The rollout hasnot been smooth, with commissioners sparring overinternal rulesandavailable resources. He said when he spoke out against the alleged injustice, racism and favoritism and nepotism that he had witnessed, he was punished and shunned. Roca said his attempts to transfer to a different police department were allegedly sabotaged by the chief, and cited a single informal complaint made against him that he said ended with no investigation and him working in an administrative role for more than a month. Work Schedule:Monday through Friday Department Summary & Job Purpose: The Assistant Vice President for Civil Rights and Title IX Coordinator is a key leader of the College's equity and compliance work and an essential member of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion team centered around creating an inclusive campus community . HOLYOKE, Mass. (AP) - A Massachusetts police officer who posted a video online alleging corruption within his department says he has been placed on paid administrative leave after refusing to take . Whether its now or later, well see.. Holyoke Police Department | Holyoke MA - Facebook And he said that when he would leave the station during those three weeks, police would pull his car over. Locally, the city of Pittsfield has a Police Advisory and Review Board. He said NEPMs reporting points to a they-against-us type of mentality and not really a serve-and-protect type mentality within the police department, and that an external, non-biased party should be investigating allegations of misconduct. In his internal report on the incident, HPDs internal affairs officer, Manuel Reyes, said police pulled over Concepcion for a traffic violation. 'Officer shuffle': Some ousted cops find jobs at new departments in Mass. Holyoke Police Department Friday: 03/25/2022 Juvenile (16) from Springfield is charged with: Possession of Class A Possession of Class A to Distribute Possession of Ammunition without a FID. HOLYOKE Mayor Joshua Garcia announced this week that the city has hired a firm to conduct an audit of the Holyoke Police Department. HOLYOKE, Mass. Hours per week:37.5 Weeks per year:52. Within the department, he said he had been shamed. Mayor Alex Morse said in a statement that he could not comment on a personnel matter. Roca said he did speak to both the attorney generals office and FBI at the same time, but that there was no subsequent follow-up from them. Some complaints involve allegations that police officers broke the law. Because Roca has filed an appeal, the state Civil Service Commission will now determine whether his discipline will stand. Holyoke police officer parks in the train station on Main Street on Wednesday, April 28, 2021. Holyoke officer suspended for viral video alleging corruption, racism Roca, however, claimed that somebody stole the gun from Harts house during a party. Daily Hampshire Gazette Contests & Promotions, Daily Hampshire Gazette Evening Top Reads, Daily Hampshire Gazette Weekly Top Stories, Daily Hampshire Gazette Dining & Entertainment, Support the This video posted online by Former Holyoke Police Officer Rafael Roca may well have been lost to history and future litigants contending with the police misconduct in Western MA if it had not been rescued by the Internet Archive (which is currently fighting off a vexatious lawsuit filed by a greedy publishing monopolist lobbying group which wants to burn down the Internet's proverbial 'Library . Who will be eaten first? Rocas video has reached over 50,000 views. The mayors office said it expects the report to be completed in the coming days. Febo responded with a statement that noted that, of the total 29 minority officers on the force, there are roughly 75 [percent] of minority officers with [eight] years [of experience] or more who focus on specialized assignments. Of non-minority police officers with eight years or more of experience, 53 percent focus on specialized assignments, according to Febo. of (They) never investigated any of my allegations to see if I was lying, he said. In a legal opinion sent to Murphy, which Roca provided to the Gazette, Assistant City Solicitor Kathleen Degnan said that Rocas public statements were not protected by the First Amendment, and therefore the police chiefs order for him to remove the video was lawful. Roca said he has already appealed that decision to the states Civil Service Commission. Irving Concepcion filed a complaint against the Holyoke, Massachusetts, police in 2016, saying they pulled him over with their guns drawn, yanked him out of his car and slammed him down on the hood. Febo said a detectives vehicle was broken into and taken from that vehicle was 2 ballistic vests with 2 magazines in the pouches, along with some K9 gear, and a first aid bag. Some, but not all, of those items were later found in a vehicle stolen from Granby that was recovered in Hartford, according to Febo. Mount Holyoke College Assistant Vice President for Civil Rights and Holyoke Chief of Police responds to allegations of department He said: The chief saw your video and hes ordering you to take it down, Roca said. Theyre there to protect each other, to look out for each other, and to come out with force in our community. delays new police misconduct database, Dusty Christensen, New England Public Media. Rafael Roca, a former US Marine who became a Holyoke, MA police officer in 2016, released this 43-minute video on Sunday exposing the corruption in his department. He said that the officer had allegedly been instructed to give him remedial training on how to apply a tourniquet. This, he said, was a result of an incident in late January in which he had responded to an incident that resulted in a stabbing and been praised by his coworkers. var photocredit = "'GAZETTE FILE PHOTO' 'Holyoke police officer parks in the train station on Main Street on Wednesday, April 28, 2021. Advocates call for more police oversight after WBUR investigation, Mass. According to Roca, supervisors in the department have lied on the stand. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (each updated 1/26/2023). Based on the report, Police Chief David Pratt suspended Roca for five days and recommended that the citys mayor terminate him. I think the challenge with that is in most jurisdictions that have a civilian review board or some version of that, its very rare for that board to have investigatory powers, Terrill said. His video, posted Sunday, has been viewed 27,000 times. of In an interview last week, Garcia said he planned to follow through with an assessment of the police department, later adding: This is not an investigation, its an assessment.. Holyoke Officer Rafael Roca, a former Marine hired in 2016, said in the 43-minute video . He said he felt as though for too long officers have been afraid to speak up and wanted this to change. Febo addresses the allegation that minority officers are not given opportunity for specialized assignments, as Roca said in his video that minorities are underrepresented in specialized positions. A handful of other officers were "spoken to" or "cautioned" by their superiors for other offenses, but the records show no evidence that the officers were disciplined for those violations of department rules. No probable cause, there was no weapons, there was no reason to assume there were weapons., An officer told him to shut my mouth or much more than my rights would be violated, Concepcion wrote in a complaint he later filed with the police department. The five-year Holyoke Police officer who posted the video, Rafael Roca, explained in the beginning, that he wanted to expose the corruption and the lies and the injustice he felt was taking place within the department. Last week, Holyokes acting mayor fired Rafael Roca, a police officer who posted a video to YouTube making allegations of corruption and racism within the Holyoke Police Department, Daily Hampshire Gazette reported. Neiswanger said that a tipster found the gun in an alley, and that the mayors presence was a coincidence. It goes back as long as anyone can remember, he said in the video. Among Roca's more generalized allegations, he called out the department for: a. Uploaded By Greenpalace1. Youre immediately going into this intimidating environment and youre having to go up to the desk sergeant asking for this, and then youre put on ice and made to sit there, Terrill said. Roca also said he wasnt surprised he was fired, but expressed disappointment that no city, state or federal officials fully investigated his allegations, according to the Gazette. With that said, I will not be commenting on the internal personnel matter that is ongoing.. But he said other studies have found that civilian review boards have a minimal effect on accountability. var tag_id = document.getElementById('buylinkHolyokePD-hg031021,ph1'); He was suspended for violating the departments social media policy, which prohibits officers from criticizing the department on social media platforms. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Reminders Publishing. In response to a public records request, the HPD has now turned over the 69 investigations it conducted from 2010 through 2019 into civilian complaints. In another case filed in 2018, a city resident wrote on their complaint form: It shouldnt take over an hour to get this paperwork to file a complaint., In 2017, former Holyoke resident Janette Hernandez Pagan sued the city, claiming HPD officers beat her 12-year-old son unconscious in 2014. Office Location: 57 Suffolk St. Suite 200 Holyoke, MA 01040 Call Us The comments are concerning, erroneous, harmful, but most importantly divisive, Capt. var currentLocation = window.location; Holyoke CO Police Brutality Lawyers - Police Brutality Lawyers In 2017, for example, a civilian accused Holyoke police officer Patrick Leahy of putting him through hell for almost a year.. If you go behind the curtain of law enforcement, oftentimes youll hear officers say the surest way not to get a complaint is not to interact with the public, he said. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. Find Top Holyoke, MA Police Misconduct Lawyers Near You | LawInfo Later that evening, however, Roca and another officer saw the fire department lieutenant drive by in his car again at high speed. Holyoke Officer Rafael Roca, a former Marine hired in 2016, said in the 43-minute video posted on YouTube that Chief Manny Febo is corrupt and plays favorites, and he argued that members of minority groups are passed over for plum assignments and that discipline is handed out selectively. Boing Boing uses cookies and analytics trackers, and is supported by advertising, merchandise Holyoke Police Officer Rafael Roca suspended after posting viral video alleging corruption at the department 'Because of this video I will probably be fired': Holyoke officer alleges. You hear from those that came before us saying the police would kick you back down to the Flats; you couldnt be seen up above High Street, Maldonado Velez said. Nobody should get away with taking the law into their own hands and being above it, he said. A Massachusetts police officer who posted a video online alleging corruption within his department says he has been placed on paid administrative leave after refusing to take it down and will probably lose his job. Amid Pandemic, Boston Loses Title as Country's Worst City for Traffic, Biden Hopes to Boost Offshore Wind as Mass. When Massachusetts lawmakers passed a sweeping police reform law in late 2020, one of the bills provisions opened up law enforcement misconduct investigations to greater scrutiny under the states public records law. The officers on the scene denied that they had drawn their weapons and challenged the extent of the mans injuries; they said he refused to get out of the car and then reached for the center console. Holyoke Chief of Police responds to allegations of department - WWLP When presented with NEPMs findings, Maldonado Velez said the lack of discipline resulting from civilian complaints is just not surprising and not unique to Holyoke. Use our free directory to instantly connect with verified Police Misconduct attorneys. March 15, Whos policing the police? he asked. In 2014, the president of the patrol-officer union wrote a scathing letter to the City Council denouncing Councilors Rebecca Lisi and Jossie Valentin for marching in a Black Lives Matter protest where he said some protesters used anti-police rhetoric., Since that moment, it was very evident to me that some members of the Holyoke Police Department were not happy with me and with Rebecca, Valentin told NEPM in an interview from Puerto Rico, where she now lives. Cannabis company Trulieve will pay $14,502 after reaching a settlement with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration over the death of an employee who worked at Trulieve's Holyoke cultivation site. Police Scorecard: Holyoke, MA Massachusetts officer alleges corruption within department Tensions soared last fall between some Holyoke residents and the HPD amid a debate in the City Council over the departments desire to purchase the controversial gunfire-location technology ShotSpotter. Roca also claimed in his video that recently, a police officer had his car stolen with guns and equipment inside. He alleged that the car was found in Hartford, but the guns and equipment were missing. The police reform bill also required police departments to turn over data on their internal investigations to the commission, which pledged to make that information public last spring. Jorge Monsalve. }. He was deployed to Bosnia from 2003-2004 where he worked with anti-corruption and security forces. That is roughly 75 percent of minority officers with eight years or more in specialized assignments, he said. He has since been suspended for . var photocredit = photocredit.toUpperCase(); var sellablestring4 = "GAZETTE FILE PHOTO"; Ill probably lose my job, but Im good. Holyoke officer who alleged corruption, OT abuse is fired I stand by the integrity of the men and women of the Holyoke Police Department and I welcome any outside agency that would like to look into any of the alleged allegations from the video, he said in a statement. In March, Rafael Roca, who had been a Holyoke police officer since 2015, posted the video to YouTube, where it has since been viewed more than 56,000 times. Project Advances, What Happened to the Money?' Daily Hampshire Gazette Contests & Promotions, Daily Hampshire Gazette Evening Top Reads, Daily Hampshire Gazette Weekly Top Stories, Daily Hampshire Gazette Dining & Entertainment, Support the The attorney generals office declined to comment on Tuesday. The Hampden District Attorney's Office told NEPM it was unable to confirm this report or comment on it without more information, like the name of the defendant, which was redacted from the public records response. OSHA, cannabis company reach $14k settlement in Holyoke worker's death . Israelis protest legal overhaul plans for 9th week - WWLP Holyoke Officer Rafael Roca, a former Marine hired in 2016, said in the 43-minute video posted on YouTube that Chief Manny Febo is "corrupt" and plays favorites, and he argued that members of. Manuel Febo, a Holyoke native who grew up in the. //LBtag_id.innerHTML = ' Buy this Image'; And the department has yet to turn over a single investigation initiated by department supervisors or other agencies, which include allegations of everything from untruthfulness to an intercepted phone conversation revealing possible misconduct from the Hampden County jail, according to the HPDs log. Alex Morse - Wikipedia The incident was fully investigated by previous chief, discipline meted out, and every step was reported publicly at that time, he wrote. Speaking to the Gazette, he alleged he has worked on grant-funded shifts during which supervisors who were supposed to be working were nowhere to be found the entire shift.. None of them provided comment on the civilian complaints they faced or the departments investigation of them, and the heads of both the patrol officers union and supervisors union did not respond to questions from NEPM. The HPDs log of complaints and internal investigations contains no evidence the department ever opened an internal investigation into the incident. Some people who filed a complaint with the HPD said that officers actions impacted their lives long after the alleged misconduct took place. Reyes the internal affairs officer found the officers actions justified and proper, and consistent with standard protocols for crash-scene response and safety. (AP) A Massachusetts police officer who posted a video online alleging corruption within his department says he has been placed on paid administrative leave after refusing to take it down and will probably lose his job. Holyoke Police Department | Holyoke, MA Holyoke Police Department | Holyoke MA Pyle told NEPM that police departments and other public agencies will continue to withhold records or slow-roll their release until lawmakers improve the states public records law, which many have criticized as one of the least transparent in the country. Matthew Moriarty, who handles communications for the department, all failed to answer numerous email and phone messages. var photocredit = photocredit.toUpperCase(); In the almost 45-minute video, Roca recounted favoritism, covering up lost and stolen weapons and other instances of corruption. Reyes ultimately exonerated Romero. The driver, who officers alleged smelled of alcohol and had slurred speech, turned out to be a lieutenant with the Holyoke Fire Department. They took my gun and my badge and kicked me out of the email system, Roca told Masslive.com on Monday. Records obtained under new Mass. law show Holyoke police dismiss nearly Three of those officers claimed more than 800 overtime hours that year, and another claimed more than 1,200 hours. At issue in Rocas case was whether he disobeyed a legal order from a superior, brought the Holyoke Police Department into disrepute with his statements, violated policy by posting to social media without permission from the police chief, and made public criticism that was defamatory. MUGSHOTS: Nearly two dozen arrested in Holyoke during high - WWLP But that work hasnt fully gotten off the ground yet. HOLYOKE, Mass One person was killed during a shooting at the Holyoke Mall Saturday night, according to the Hampden County District Attorney's office. His video, posted Sunday, has been viewed 27,000 times. The youths, Reyes report alleged, were Blood gang members who were under surveillance for their possible involvement in a shooting involving a school bus on the previous day. He said the cars possibly armed occupants made furtive movements and refused to show their hands, and that the officers on scene denied making the remarks Concepcion alleged. As part. HOLYOKE Two days after a Holyoke Police Officer posted a viral YouTube video accusing his own department of corruption and racism, Police Chief Manny Febo has clapped back. That is roughly 53 percent of non-minority officers with eight years or more who are assigned to specialized assignments., Additional he said there were 38 officers total with six years or less of full-time experience, Of those 38, 17 are minority officers. After Customers Paid Large Deposits for Home Projects, Contractor Files for Bankruptcy, How Much Snow Has Fallen in Your Area So Far, The House Where JonBenet Ramsey Was Found Dead Is Listed for Sale at Nearly $7M, FIRST ALERT: Wintry Mix Keeps Falling as Storm Hits New England (Live Radar). So Romero arrested him for assault and battery on a police officer. One officer was accused of using his siren at a drive-thru window to get his ice cream more quickly. }, Holyoke police officer Rafael Roca. The police are policing themselves., Maldonado Velez is not the first city councilor who has come under fire from Holyokes police unions. HOLYOKE, Mass. var sellablestring4 = "GAZETTE FILE PHOTO"; All rights reserved (About Us). Academic studies have shown its fairly common for police departments to sustain a small percentage of civilian complaints. But some will be missing, Mass. In the departments investigation, police said they pulled him over for running a stop sign, then tried to tow his car after learning his license was suspended and registration revoked. Roca was suspended with pay Tuesday as Holyoke police pursue an internal investigation, he said. Last fall, five of the remaining six members of the board quit after they wereblocked from reviewing the police department's internal reporton the police killing of city resident Miguel Estrella. Its not clear and it doesnt exist. For those reasons, Reyes cleared the officers of violating department policies. Graduated from 36th Massachusetts Police Officer . var currentheadline = document.getElementById("headline").innerText; A former military police officer, Terrill has for many years researched civilian complaints against police officers in cities across the country, including a2016 study that looked at departmentsin eight different cities. Febo did not use any names in his statement, but addressed an incident 10 years ago where rifles were lost. I plan to fight this to the end. The man alleged there was a problem with the arrest report Leahy later filed, saying it contained outright lies and falsehoods. He said he never had a gun and never even stepped into the street. . Yeah, they didnt waste any time. If you need to reach our office by phone, contact us at 413-538-7118. Becoming a police officer was his "life long dream" but that dream was "quickly affected" and "hurt" by the corruption and racism of police officers, which "goes back to as long as anyone can remember. The reality is my community policing cops got a tip and they followed up on it, Neiswanger told The Republican at the time. //var LBtag_id = document.getElementById('buylinkLBHolyokePD-hg031021,ph1'); Holyoke, MA Those who are paying attention to the ever-expanding police state in the land of the free know that the system is set up in such a way that it protects bad cops while punishing the good ones.
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