Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 10/11/2022
SPRINGFIELD – During the City Council’s Oct. 5 quarterly oversight of the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) recently established consent decree, members of the council expressed concerns with the ongoing implementation of the decree and its utilization of the readopted Police Commission.
Background
The DOJ and the city reached a settlement agreement on decree in April. Previously, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts ruled in favor of the City Council’s request for Springfield to develop a decree after city leadership expressed initial pushback. The settlement is the resolution of illegal conditions discovered within the Springfield Police Department’s (SPD) Narcotics Bureau, according to the DOJ. The department’s announcement stressed that the agreement will enforce accountability within the SPD.
“The Springfield Police Department will provide better supervision to officers and improve internal investigations of complaints of officer misconduct. When officers violate use-of-force policies, the agreement will ensure that the Springfield Police Department holds officers accountable,” said the Department of Justice in their April 13 statement.
The consent decree reestablished the city’s Police Commission after years in dormancy. Mayor Domenic Sarno appointed five members to the commission: Civilian Community Police Hearing Board member Albert Tranghese, former School Committee member Norman Roldan, security business owner Robert C. Jackson, Hampden County Sheriff Department employee Madeline Fernandez and professor of Criminal Justice at Springfield College Dr. Gary Berte.
The establishment of both continues to endure initial hurdles. Members of the Police Commission expressed frustration during a Sept. 19 Public Safety Subcommittee. Berte, the Police Commission’s chairperson, cited a lack of resources, such as technology and inaccessible contact information, as hindrances to their process.
“I’m not trying to make excuses, but we do need support and we do need resources,” said Berte during the meeting.
Additionally, the council did not agree with the appointment of Attorney Kevin Murphy as an attorney for the SPD’s Internal Investigations Unit. The council ultimately voted against a budget transfer for funding Murphy’s position in a 9-1 vote. City Councilor At-Large Tracye Whitfield, City Councilor At-Large Justin Hurst and Ward 8 City Councilor Zaida Govan questioned the lack of transparent process that led to Murphy’s appointment. Whitfield also cited an oversight in hiring a diverse and local candidate.
Deputy City Solicitor Kathleen Breck explained that Murphy’s approval was ultimately Police Superintendent Cheryl Clapprood’s decision. Murphy was appointed as additional advisement for the unit as ordered by the consent decree.
Quarterly Oversight
The quarterly oversight meeting took place during a City Council Special Meeting. Members of the Police Commission and representatives for the DOJ were not in attendance. City Council President Jesse Lederman said the DOJ communicated that they were “not authorized to speak publicly” on matters, but could undergo discussion in future executive sessions.
Lederman said an invitation was sent to the commission and Berte said he intended to be at the meeting. Hurst aired frustration about the lack of commission presence. He also speculated that Berte was told not to attend the meeting by the administration.
“I’m baffled that not one of the commissioners showed up … if he intended to be present this evening, I assure you he got the memo from someone up top saying that he shouldn’t show up,” said Hurst.
Lederman opened the meeting by establishing the purpose of the quarterly oversight meetings in defining the consent decree’s establishment while ensuring a public dialogue on the ongoing process.
“Our shared goal is about creating a fair and transparent system of accountability, professionalism and checks and balances that the public and members of the department can trust and rely on,” said Lederman.
City Solicitor Judge John Payne provide updates on the DOJ consent decree. Payne shared that the city hired a compliance evaluator and are working to put policies in place for the decree. Along with the evaluator, members of the Law Department and representatives of the Police Department aid in the policies and procedures on the city side.
The DOJ also serves as collaborators during the policy process. Payne said the pace of establishing policies alongside the DOJ is “moving forward in a very effective manner.”
“We are making enormous progress – progress that both sides are happy with … Nothing has held us up at this point,” said Payne. The two sides recently worked on a policy for how to handle use of force complaints, according to Payne.
Once the policies are fully adopted, Payne said the DOJ will ensure proper training and the following of procedures by officers and police department leadership as advisors. The decree’s specific focus centers in officer’s use of force and the Internal Investigation Unit. The Police Commission does not serve a role in forming policies.
Payne also explained the pipeline for how the decree addresses formal complaints. All complaints are initially reviewed by the Internal Investigations Unit, the unit’s attorney and Clapprood before the parties provide an extensive complaint review. The commission will focus primarily on reviews that concluded by suggesting significant discipline or termination for an officer. Payne said complaints can include a written report or an anonymous telephone call.
Payne said the Police Commission doesn’t have a specific physical headquarters. He said the prior iteration of the commission also did not feature a central location. The commission currently meets at the International Investigation Unit’s office on Page Boulevard.
“That [concern] hasn’t been raised by any commissioner,” said Payne. For legal advice, Payne serves as the commission’s main resource. Payne expects for the commission to eventually receive a designated attorney.
During the initial meetings, Payne has helped set a course for how the commission can operate in their roles. He said training is still ongoing for commission members as the current focus is on completing the policies and procedures. He expects the policies to be resolved by the end of the year.
Members of the council expressed mixed sentiments about the ongoing consent decree process.
Govan expressed concern with the consent decree’s current practices, believing that several investigations could be “mishandled” if the commission isn’t reviewing each submitted complaint. She declared that the Police Commission requires more support as they attempt to serve in their new role.
“I don’t want to see history repeat itself and find ourselves in the same position that we were five to 10 years ago … I am very concerned that the Police Commission that’s in place is not being supported and it’s not being able to do the job we want them to do,” said Govan.
Ward 4 City Councilor Malo Brown shared that the SPD’s Brady List should be available to the public. The list refers to cops that displayed untruthfulness in their reports – which Brown believes should prevent officers from testifying again. Brown also advocated for the inclusion of a minority union in the decree to represent underrepresented perspectives.
“The unions are very powerful. A lot of times, a lot of police officers can’t be fired because of those unions. I would believe we can have a union of color created,” said Brown.
Representation became a central talking point during the council’s discussion with Payne. Whitfield called for the hiring of an additional attorney – preferably a local resident of color – to highlight perspectives that are currently neglected by the process. She also re-aired concerns about the process’ fairness and transparency given how Murphy was appointed by the administration.
“I would like to see a fair and transparent process and maybe an attorney of color that can see all sides of the situation hired or even considered, even if Attorney Murphy was still going to be hired. That whole process just doesn’t sit well with me,” said Whitfield.
Ward 1 City Councilor Maria Perez said constituents still feel “very intimated” to submit a complaint to the police. Perez also argued that the commission needs to be more involved in the current consent decree progress.
“The Police Commission I feel, and this is from the point of the residents, that they are last in the process … By the time that the Police Commission has the information, there is already decision making … The community doesn’t feel satisfied by this process,” said Perez.
The conversation shifted toward concerns around systematic racism. Govan said the department features “structurally racism embedded in it.”
“I love the city of Springfield. Just like all the other councilors said, I want to have the best Police Department in the country, and I think we can achieve that if we listen to our constituents. The residents are fearful of the police. Police officers don’t want to be police officers anymore in this department, and that is because a whole history of structurally racism,” said Govan.
Whitfield agreed with Govan’s sentiments about inequity within the SPD.
“These things were normalized in the community, and now we’re tired of it. We’re also tired of the systematic racism that continues to happen time and time again … it is painful to sit here and listen to it, because the same structures that’s been in place for centuries is still taking place,” said Whitfield.
Hurst levied his criticisms about inequities toward city’s leadership.
“The system that the mayor and the administration operate in is the problem … if it takes us on back court to figure this out, then we got to go back to court because the community wants to see a difference. Right now, it just ain’t happening,” said Hurst.
At the meeting’s close, Lederman aspired for all involved to build upon the first oversight meeting. He also stressed that he will send all unanswered questions from the council to the designated parties.
“This is in many respects the beginning of the conversation … We are leaving here with a lot of work to do,” said Lederman.