I already knew they were going to wait until the last minute, he told the newspaper. Matthew Moriarty, who handles communications for the department, all failed to answer numerous email and phone messages. You have been subscribed to WBUR Today. In one 2011 complaint, a civilian alleged that during a traffic stop that involved Officer Jared Hamel, police held a gun to the civilian's head and knocked him unconscious, after which officers stomped on his face and dislocated his jaw. var photocredit = "'Screenshot from YouTube.' 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. Murphy reportedly said he felt no pressure to fire Roca before he left office. On March 9, spokesperson for the Holyoke Police Department Matthew Moriarty confirmed that Roca was on paid leave while an internal investigation was completed regarding the matter. . He said they did the same to a few teenagers in the car with him, taking one of them to the ground, putting a knee to his back and arresting him. Howie Carr: What's so urgent in Holbrook, Mr. Speaker? When you speak up and when you expose corruption, thats what they do. Because Roca has filed an appeal, the state Civil Service Commission will now determine whether his discipline will stand. 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. No civilian complaints data obtained for this agency. 'Holyoke police officer Rafael Roca alleges there iscorruption and racism in the Holyoke Police Department. Roca also took issue with the fact that a Nov. 5 hearing on his case took place at City Hall without him. When Romero put his hand on the boys shoulder and told him to go back to his classroom, Reyes said the boy smacked the officer's hand and swore at him. tag_id.innerHTML = ''; Febo also issued a statement on the matter, and said while he would not be commenting on the internal personnel matter that is ongoing, he did take the opportunity to address some of the allegations and give facts., Febo said with regard to the allegation that the department covered up stolen and/or lost rifles, the incident in question took place 10 years ago and was fully investigated by [the] previous chief, discipline meted out, and every step was reported publicly at that time., Additionally Febo referenced the claim regarding a detective that had his vehicle and weapon stolen, which was covered up. NEPM also obtained a handwritten log tracking all 156 investigations of its own officers the department conducted during those 10 years, including those initiated not by civilian complaints but by superior officers. HOLYOKE - A Holyoke police officer recently released a YouTube video accusing the Holyoke Police Department of corruption. Pages 17 Course Hero uses AI to attempt to automatically extract content from documents to surface to you and others so you can study better, e.g., in search results, to enrich docs, and more. In the almost 45-minute video, Roca recounted favoritism, covering up lost and stolen weapons and other instances of corruption. A police officer says he's on paid administrative leave for refusing to take down the 43-minute video that alleges corruption within the police department in Holyoke, Massachusetts. They label you a liar, he said. In his 2016 study in the journalPolice Quarterly, Terrill and fellow researcher Jason Ingram found that in cities that had police conducting internal investigations, but where an external civilian oversight agency reviewed their decisions, the department was "significantly more likely to sustain complaints." Murphy said that Roca had been on paid leave for eight months, and that the city needed to resolve that matter. Reyes ultimately exonerated Romero. I did exactly what I was trained and paid to do but people on my watch had a problem with that because they like to sleep in their cruisers overnight; they dont want to work.. It's that point in the year READ THE REST, We thank our sponsor for making this content possible; it is not written by the editorial staff nor does it necessarily reflect its views. We definitely had examples of moments where we felt we were treated differently because of our activism and there was an underlying tone of retaliation.. Yeah, they didnt waste any time. March 9, 2021. The Appellant left the Holyoke Police Station at approximately 11:00 p.m. and proceeded to the detail in his personal vehicle by means of Southampton Road. Daily Hampshire Gazette Contests & Promotions, Daily Hampshire Gazette Evening Top Reads, Daily Hampshire Gazette Weekly Top Stories, Daily Hampshire Gazette Dining & Entertainment, Support the Roca had been with the department since 2015. He also said that academics have struggled to answer the question of whether a complaint against an officer represents a problem officer, a productive officer or some combination of the two. Roca said he was suspended for violating the departments social media policy, which bars officers from criticizing the department on social media platforms. Ernest Fontaine, Fitchburg State . One is a female who is being trained to investigate sensitive crimes involving children, females and domestic violence. 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. 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. That decision was made after aHolyoke police officer publicly alleged corruptionwithin the HPD and aDaily Hampshire Gazetteinvestigation found whatsome characterized as excessive overtimein the department, including among some of its highest-paid officers. In one 2013 complaint, for example, a civilian alleged they watched police officer Charles Monfett pull up next to his brother in his police cruiser and hand him a bag of pot., We also overheard how it was just recovered from someone at Jones Point, the complaint alleges. Later that evening, however, Roca and another officer saw the fire department lieutenant drive by in his car again at high speed. Roca said he has received support from former co-workers who are scared to speak out and from many others in the city. (They) never investigated any of my allegations to see if I was lying, he said. Out of the 92 times an officer was named in a civilian complaint, HPDs top brass only sustained, or upheld, allegations against an officer three times: a dispatcher who received a verbal warning in 2012 when she was accused of rudeness, an officer who received a verbal warning after he released a 14 year olds booking photo to the press in 2018, and another officer who received additional training in 2013 after a group of civilians accused her of swearing at them and referring to them as illegals.. He said: The chief saw your video and hes ordering you to take it down, Roca said. He alleged that he was denied a job with the University of Massachusetts Amherst campus police at the request of his police chief and that when he saved the life of a white state trooper, the state trooper was rewarded over himself. AMHERST Amherst Police Chief Scott Livingstone will retire in May after nearly 14 years leading a department he joined upon graduating from AMHERST Unions at the University of Massachusetts are contending that more than 100 state jobs, and their accompanying benefits, are being WALTERBORO, S.C. One of the last pieces of a legal dynasty that doled out justice in rural South Carolina for decades crumbled Friday as lawyer WASHINGTON President Joe Biden exudes confidence as the next race for the White House approaches.During last months State of the Union address Holyoke police officer parks in the train station on Main Street on Wednesday, April 28, 2021. (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. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. I wasnt looking for them to be on my side, but youd think if somebody was making allegations about their city they may have questions themselves.. var currentLocation = window.location; How do cops view themselves and their work? 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. Another was accused of sexual assault while he was off duty. Not to stop anyone., Terrill said the best practice is to allow civilians to file complaints against officers in multiple venues in-person oronline, like the POST Commission now allows on its website and to be able to do so anonymously. And often, legal protections and collective bargaining agreements with police unions prevent those boards from interviewing officers, he added. It should be known as Corrupt City," he said in the video. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. HOLYOKE A Holyoke police officer said he has been suspended after posting a lengthy video online alleging widespread corruption and racism within the police department. var sellablestring2 = "STAFF PHOTO"; HOLYOKE Last week, the citys acting mayor fired a police officer who earlier this year posted a viral video on social media alleging corruption and racism within the Holyoke Police Department. var sellablestring4 = "GAZETTE FILE PHOTO"; This followed years of battles between the mayor and City Council over control of the department and the effectiveness of a previous advisory panel, the Civilian Community Police Hearing Board. Holyoke Officer Rafael Roca, a former Marine hired in 2016, said in the 43-minute video . In 2016, Irving Concepcion says the Holyoke police pulled him over with their guns drawn, yanked him out of his car and slammed him down on the hood. Last August, Holyoke Mayor Joshua Garcia hired the New Hampshire-based consulting firm Municipal Resources, Inc., to audit the city's police department. used triad trailer for sale. And he said that when he would leave the station during those three weeks, police would pull his car over. Uploaded By Greenpalace1. //var LBtag_id = document.getElementById('buylinkLBHolyokePD-hg031021,ph1'); HOLYOKE, Mass. 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. On Nov. 10, then acting mayor Terence Murphy followed that recommendation after a city lawyer determined there was just cause for firing Roca. He also called for the FBI or the state attorney generals office to investigate the department. When asked about allegations that the HPD made civilians wait in the police department to file a complaint, he described that as an old-school, tried-and-true tactic of the agencies to keep their complaint level down.. That is roughly 75% of minority officers with 8 years or more [of experience] in specialized assignments. Febos statement added, The Holyoke Police Department has a Chief, 2 Lieutenants, and 4 Sergeants who are minority in the department command staff.. Graduated from 36th Massachusetts Police Officer . Here is the list of officers: Devon Bones, Holyoke Police Department. Valentin, who went on to work as a staffer for U.S. Sens. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Instead of arresting the driver, Monsalve, one of a number of officers who responded, decided to park the drivers car and give him a ride back home. TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) Tens of thousands of Israelis demonstrated Saturday against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's contentious plan to overhaul the country's legal system, as the governm Our forum rules are detailed in the Community Guidelines. var photocredit = photocredit.toUpperCase(); var currentheadline = document.getElementById("headline").innerText; He added, I want to [assure] the citizens of Holyoke that they can continue to have confidence in the men and women of the Holyoke Police Department and the great work that they do every day.. 540K subscribers in the Bad_Cop_No_Donut community. tag_id.innerHTML = ''; var tag_id = document.getElementById('buylinkHolyokePD-hg031021,ph1'); 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. Holyoke police officers arrived at the mall just before 7:00 p.m. for a report of shots fired. He said that he saved the state troopers life, only to be treated like a piece of crap afterward, getting turned down for a job with the state police. Roca had argued that the citys social media policy illegally infringed on his First Amendment rights, and that his statements were true and therefore were not defamatory. 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. Mr. Roca also suggests the state attorney general or the FBI should look into his claims against Febo and the department. He has since been suspended for . The other officer was chosen specifically due to his extensive knowledge and expertise in firearms, he is assigned to the ATF task force, he said. Febo, who plans to retire in July, said he has nothing to hide. Daily Hampshire Gazette. Febo, according to Roca, allegedly promoted a friend to the position of provisional lieutenant. Murphy said in a phone interview Monday that he felt no pressure from anyone to terminate Roca before he left office. Academic studies have shown its fairly common for police departments to sustain a small percentage of civilian complaints. (WWLP) - Holyoke's Chief of Police responded to the allegations of corruption within the department, made by an officer in a widely-circulated YouTube video. Pyle represented the WorcesterTelegram & Gazettein the newspapers 2018 lawsuit against the city of Worcester over its police departments illegal withholding of misconduct records. var sellablestring3 = "STAFF FILE PHOTO"; HOLYOKE A Holyoke police officer recently released a YouTube video accusing the Holyoke Police Department of corruption. I stand behind the video and what I said in it.. Holyoke Police Department | Holyoke MA The 69 complaints that NEPM obtained are just the ones that civilians managed to file with the HPD in the first place. If that doesn't work, move to step 2: literally shoot the messenger But he said other studies have found that civilian review boards have a minimal effect on accountability. Wheres my due process in that?. In the video, Roca also alleged that department leadership has covered up the facts surrounding several instances when weapons have gone missing from the department.