holyoke police corruption

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. Roca was immediately placed on administrative leave as the department conducted an internal investigation. Reyes, Police Chief David Pratt and Capt. March 15, [15] Located 8 miles (13 km) north of Springfield, Holyoke is part of the Springfield Metropolitan Area, one of the two distinct metropolitan areas in Massachusetts." Story about Holyoke police beating a 12 year old Latino boy in 2014 and fallout: "Three Holyoke police officers beat a 12-year . Daily Hampshire Gazette. Leon Davis, Springfield Police Department. A newly released independent audit of the Holyoke Police Department found the HPD poses a "substantial risk" to the city it serves. Have you ever had a vision 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. In my view, the violation of Rule 3 of the Holyoke Police Department rules alone is just cause for the five-day suspension and termination because police officers must follow lawful orders, Degnan wrote. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Reminders Publishing. var photocredit = photocredit.toUpperCase(); All rights reserved, FIRST ALERT: Storm Hitting Greater Boston Live Radar, Updates. I want to ensure 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, he wrote. Holyoke Police Officer Rafael Roca Fired Over Video Accusing Department Of Corruption And Racism November 23, 2021 | No Comments Last week, Holyoke's 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. 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). Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Murphy didnt have to answer to anybody. Three of those officers claimed more than 800 overtime hours that year, and another claimed more than 1,200 hours. Despite the high Puerto Rican population in Holyoke, Roca said there are not enough police officers from the community. The HPD is not the only local department that rarely disciplines officers based on civilian complaints. Boing Boing is published under a Creative Commons Holyoke St. Patrick's Committee holds 67th Grand Video / Feb 18, 2023 / 10:41 PM EST The 70th annual Holyoke St. Patrick's Parade is now nearly a month away and at the Log Cabin Saturday . 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. Rafael Roca, 37,. 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. Theyre there to protect each other, to look out for each other, and to come out with force in our community. 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. Coughlin has been living large on his State Police pension of $131,961 a year. They took my gun and my badge and kicked me out of the email system, Roca said during an interview at the time. Jorge Monsalve. 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. 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. The police, for me, was used as a reminder to stay in my place. 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. var sellablestring2 = "STAFF PHOTO"; Holyoke Police Department killed 1 person from 2013-21. On March 7, Holyoke police officer Rafael Roca posted a video on YouTube alleging racism and corruption by the Holyoke Police Department. 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.. Officer Leahy made up a substantial portion of his report, the man wrote. Skilled in Microsoft Word, Police Procedures, Defensive Tactics, Emergency Management, Law Enforcement, Conflict Resolution and Public Speaking. Of those 18 officers, eight made more than $200,000. The Gazettes coverage of the incident notes that officers attempted to subdue Guyette with a stun gun as he rammed into cars attempting to escape. Febo, who plans to retire in July, said he has nothing to hide. Febo did not use any names in his statement, but addressed an incident 10 years ago where rifles were lost. 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. 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). A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected the youngest mayor of Holyoke at age 22. var tag_id = document.getElementById('buylinkRocaHolyokeFiring-hg-111721,ph1'); In 1894 the New York State Senate launched the first comprehensive investigation of corruption in the NYPD. He went on to say that he had tried to sue, tried speaking with the supervisors, Ive tried my union, Ive tried it all. Roca said he hoped that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Attorney General, along with the FBI, would open an investigation into the department. The benefits of learning to play READ THE REST. Here is the list of officers: Devon Bones, Holyoke Police Department. All rights reserved (About Us). var sellablestring4 = "GAZETTE FILE PHOTO"; I kept yelling that they were violating our rights and they continued to search my vehicle against my will. Roca said Monday that he wasnt surprised to have been fired, though he said he was disappointed that no city, state or federal authorities fully investigated his allegations. But for Concepcion, the man who alleged police abused their authority pulling him over in 2016, thats exactly the kind of work Holyoke and other cities should be doing. 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). 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. In 2018, a man alleged that school resource officer Melvis Romero abused his authority when he threw the mans son to the ground during the school day and arrested him, injuring his neck and shoulders in the process. Roca said that the department is rife with racism. Locally, the city of Pittsfield has a Police Advisory and Review Board. 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. ", He calls outgoing Police Chief Manny Febo "corrupt," contending minorities are routinely passed over for upper-tier assignments and disciplined at higher rates. The father said in his complaint that his boys had been through a lot of trauma made worse by now living in a homeless shelter, and that as a result they didnt always react to what they were told to do. The city settled that lawsuit for $65,000 in 2020. Roca said he was suspended for violating the departments social media policy, which bars officers from criticizing the department on social media platforms. 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. 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. "Yeah, they didn't waste any time. Mayor Joshua Garcia also declined to sit down for an interview with NEPM. The so-called Lexow Committee revealed to the city and nation in unprecedented detail. They pick and choose who they want to discipline and who they dont want to discipline.. 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. 2021 license. She wrotethat she believed Rocas public statements to be untruthful and self-serving, and that he made them with the intent to defame the Holyoke Police Department.. He has since been suspended for refusing to take the video down. Service, a Creative Commons His video, posted Sunday, has been viewed 27,000 times. if (photocredit.indexOf(sellablestring) > -1 || photocredit.indexOf(sellablestring2) > -1 || photocredit.indexOf(sellablestring3) > -1 || photocredit.indexOf(sellablestring4) > -1) { var photocredit = photocredit.toUpperCase(); The handwritten log, which tracks civilian and internal complaints against officers and their conclusions, features two entries for Roca. In-depth news coverage of the Greater Boston Area. And cities where complaints of police misconduct are rarely ruled in favor of civilians could benefit from creating an oversight structure to independently investigate these complaints. Among Roca's more generalized allegations, he called out the department for: a. 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. Holyoke police officer parks in the train station on Main Street on Wednesday, April 28, 2021. Ill probably lose my job, but Im good. Because when you speak up and you expose corruption, he said in the video, thats what they do.. Neiswanger said that a tipster found the gun in an alley, and that the mayors presence was a coincidence. The mayor of Holyoke, Massachusetts has appointed a new police chief who will be the first Latino to lead the department. The comments are concerning, erroneous, harmful, but most importantly divisive, Capt. 540K subscribers in the Bad_Cop_No_Donut community. Holyoke Massachusetts & Pennsylvania Legal Representation. He said he felt as though for too long officers have been afraid to speak up and wanted this to change. The reality is my community policing cops got a tip and they followed up on it, Neiswanger told The Republican at the time. HOLYOKE, Mass. Others, he added, have managed to escape from serious instances of misconduct without any disciplinary action. 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. (WWLP) - The Holyoke Fire Department was sent to Hampshire and Maple Streets for a car accident on Friday. For this reason, the Holyoke Police department will have no further comment regarding Mr. Roca or his Case.. var currentLocation = window.location; Hed be gone by then.. Roca said he has received support from former co-workers who are scared to speak out and from many others in the city. Roca said he also plans to file a lawsuit over his treatment. It was originally published by New England Public Media. 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 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. license except where otherwise noted. 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. In court filings, Pagans lawyer called the HPDs process of reviewing civilian complaints baroque, pointing to the fact that James Neiswanger, who was the police chief at the time, said in a deposition that before complaints were investigated, an administrator reviewed them to determine if they had merit., Hernandez Pagan attempted to file a complaint, the lawsuit alleged. The stolen vehicle was later recovered in Hartford, CT and one of the vests and some K9 gear was recovered. Concepcion alleged that he returned again and again for hours at a time until an HPD supervisor finally interviewed him three weeks later. In his internal report on the incident, HPDs internal affairs officer, Manuel Reyes, said police pulled over Concepcion for a traffic violation.