holyoke police corruption

Last year, a judge ruled in favor of the newspaper and ordered the city to pay $5,000 in punitive damages and $100,000 in legal fees. 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. Many of those officers all but one of whom are supervisors collected tens of thousands of dollars last year in overtime pay. var tag_id = document.getElementById('buylinkRocaHolyokeFiring-hg-111721,ph2'); if (photocredit.indexOf(sellablestring) > -1 || photocredit.indexOf(sellablestring2) > -1 || photocredit.indexOf(sellablestring3) > -1 || photocredit.indexOf(sellablestring4) > -1) { Office Location: 57 Suffolk St. Suite 200 Holyoke, MA 01040 Call Us 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. HOLYOKE Mayor Joshua Garcia announced this week that the city has hired a firm to conduct an audit of the Holyoke Police Department. Published: 11/16/2021 9:42:49 PM HOLYOKE Last week, the city's acting mayor fired a police officer who earlier this year posted a viral video on social media alleging corruption and. Holyoke Police Department's 24 hour anonymous "TEXT-A-TIP" Dial CRIMES (533-TIPS or 533-8477). The HPDs log of complaints and internal investigations contains no evidence the department ever opened an internal investigation into the incident. We were unable to subscribe you to WBUR Today. Degnan said in her report that she offered him the ability to participate via telephone and that she did not receive a physicians note with sufficient detail to verify that he could not participate in the hearing. 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. Roca claimed that Manny Febo, the first Latinx police chief in Holyoke, has targeted him and other employees by refusing them positions and recognition for their work. 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. Yeah, they didnt waste any time. Whos policing the police? he asked. Advocates call for more police oversight after WBUR investigation, Mass. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. He said the incident took place last year and involved the department responding to a call at the boat ramp where a citizen had stated that an officer had purposely rammed his boat. Febo went on to say there were conflicting accounts regarding the incident and very minor contact. He said while no formal complaint was filed, a report was filed and the incident was not covered up. Additionally, he said, the officer was spoken to about rudeness when dealing with the public. According to the commissions decision, it had been Rocas first solo patrol in October 2016 when he pulled over a driver who had been driving down the street in the opposite direction. Ill probably lose my job, but Im good. You can try, records from the Northampton Police Department, Amherst Police Department investigated 16 civilian complaints, Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission, Holyoke police officer publicly alleged corruption, some characterized as excessive overtime, online, like the POST Commission now allows on its website, blocked from reviewing the police department's internal report. 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. var sellablestring = "GAZETTE STAFF"; In his video, Roca references alleged abuse of overtime pay. In March, Roca was placed on suspension after his video, which has over 56,000 views, accused officers of false overtime pay, protecting each other from punishment after misconduct and creating a culture of racism and favoritism, especially with promotions. Springfield this past year reinstituted a civilian Board of Police Commissioners to oversee the department and decide on officer discipline. One complaint for rudeness was not sustained by an investigation. Daily Hampshire Gazette. 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. He saidthat ultimately there was sufficient cause to terminate Roca. Get the latest news on COVID-19 delivered to you. //var LBtag_id = document.getElementById('buylinkLBRocaHolyokeFiring-hg-111721,ph1'); They took my gun and my badge and kicked me out of the email system, Roca said during an interview at the time. 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. HOLYOKE A Holyoke police officer recently released a YouTube video accusing the Holyoke Police Department of corruption. The incident was fully investigated by previous chief, discipline meted out, and every step was reported publicly at that time, he wrote. The attorney generals office declined to comment on Tuesday. if (photocredit.indexOf(sellablestring) > -1 || photocredit.indexOf(sellablestring2) > -1 || photocredit.indexOf(sellablestring3) > -1 || photocredit.indexOf(sellablestring4) > -1) { The city attorney suggested that under the circumstances the city was getting off easy. Previously, police departments were able to argue that those documents were personnel records, which are typically exempt from disclosure under the law. In other words, having the power to question the suspect, having the power to question the officer.. The agency still has not released that data because of the need to clean up and validate the massive data set, according to Zuniga. 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. 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. Roca was suspended with pay Tuesday as Holyoke police pursue an internal investigation, he said. Two officers did respond to say that department policies prohibit them from speaking to the press without permission from higher-ups. "I'll probably lose my job, but I'm good. They put him in handcuffs at his home, but Monsalve ultimately decided to place the driver in protective custody instead of arresting him, declining to give the driver a breathalyzer, according to testimony included in the commissions decision. Another was accused of sexual assault while he was off duty. In an interview with NEPM, Maldonado Velez said his critique of the police department is not about individual officers but rather the system of policing. For this reason, the Holyoke Police department will have no further comment regarding Mr. Roca or his Case.. Concepcion, who alleged that police unjustifiably yanked him out of his car at gunpoint in 2016, said he attempted to file a complaint against the officers that day, but police at the station told him they had no complaint forms on hand. He attested that state troopers consistently call him to translate for them, as they do not have enough Spanish speakers on the force. Roca said he has already appealed that decision to the states Civil Service Commission. var currentLocation = window.location; They would just tell me to just stop doing what I was doing, its not going to go nowhere, its only going to cause me more hardships and problems, Concepcion said. Rafael Roca, 37,. He said that currently, there were 46 total patrolmen with eight years or more of full-time experience on the job., Out of those 46, 12 are minority officers. 2021 "I'm here to make this video to expose the corruption, and the lies, and the injustice that is taking place within the police department in Holyoke, Massachusetts," he says at the start of the video. Roca said that he has only received one formal and one informal complaint during his five years on the force a claim that appears to be corroborated by an internal affairs log the Gazette has obtained through a public records request. The mayor of Holyoke, Massachusetts has appointed a new police chief who will be the first Latino to lead the department. 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. var sellablestring2 = "STAFF PHOTO"; 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. Roca, however, claimed that somebody stole the gun from Harts house during a party. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. 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. 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. Boing Boing uses cookies and analytics trackers, and is supported by advertising, merchandise I stand behind the video and what I said in it. Later that evening, however, Roca and another officer saw the fire department lieutenant drive by in his car again at high speed. Read about what we do with the data we gather in our Privacy Policy. var photocredit = photocredit.toUpperCase(); Early on in his tenure with the department, Roca was called to testify in an appeal hearing before the state Civil Service Commission over the suspension of a superior, Sgt. In this still from a video Roca posted to YouTube on March 7, 2021, Roca alleges there is corruption and racism in the Holyoke Police Department. The rollout hasnot been smooth, with commissioners sparring overinternal rulesandavailable resources. list of candidates for Holyoke police officer. 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.. (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. And in Amherst, records show that during a 12-year period, theAmherst Police Department investigated 16 civilian complaints; in only one of those cases did an officer face discipline. It goes back as long as anyone can remember, he said in the video. var tag_id = document.getElementById('buylinkRocaHolyokeFiring-hg-111721,ph1'); var photocredit = "'Screenshot from YouTube.' Skilled in Microsoft Word, Police Procedures, Defensive Tactics, Emergency Management, Law Enforcement, Conflict Resolution and Public Speaking. It's Boston local news in one concise, fun and informative email. }. The mayor of Holyoke, Massachusetts, has broken his silence about an NEPM investigation that revealed the city's police department almost never disciplines officers whom civilians accuse of wrongdoing. 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. Myrick was originally elected when he 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. 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. 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 . The comments are concerning, erroneous, harmful, but most importantly divisive, Capt. Its not clear and it doesnt exist. To tackle these questions,"I'm a Cop"directly examines the words of READ THE REST, The Boston Globe recently printed an op-ed by former Ithaca, NY mayor Svante Myrick, who talks about his own city's approach to police reform. Though he mentioned no names in the video, one incident Roca referred to occurred in September 2011, when police Sgt. The police are policing themselves., Maldonado Velez is not the first city councilor who has come under fire from Holyokes police unions. Of those 18 officers, eight made more than $200,000. 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. N/A civilian complaints of police misconduct. Taken from that vehicle was two ballistic vests with two magazines in the pouches, along with some K9 gear, and a first aid bag. As of 2019, the estimated population was 40,117. Thats according to William Terrill, a professor at Arizona State University's School of Criminology and Criminal Justice. 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. Concepcion alleged that he returned again and again for hours at a time until an HPD supervisor finally interviewed him three weeks later. Schedule an appointment online for a New LTC / Firearms license. 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 This story is a production of the New England News Collaborative. 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. var tag_id = document.getElementById('buylinkHolyokePD-hg031021,ph1'); Holyoke police officer Rafael Roca. The backlash was swift from the citys two police unions, which called on Maldonado Velez to apologize or recuse himself from votes related to the police department. '"; He has since been suspended for refusing to take the video down. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, told NEPM that she filed the complaint because she wanted to push back against her constituents dominant perception: that there was no point in filing a complaint against the HPD. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Roca was immediately placed on administrative leave as the department conducted an internal investigation. He went on to say that he felt as though he would either be fired or suspended for posting the 45-minute long video. But now he finds out if he will be charged with misdemeanor furnishing of alcohol and reckless endangerment of a.

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