• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • HOME
  • NEWS+OPINIONS
    • NEWS TO US
    • COLUMNS
      • APPARENT HORIZON
      • DEAR READER
      • Close
    • LONGFORM FEATURES
    • OPINIONS
    • EDITORIAL
    • Close
  • ARTS+ENTERTAINMENT
    • FILM
    • MUSIC
    • COMEDY
    • PERFORMING ARTS
    • VISUAL ARTS
    • Close
  • DINING+DRINKING
    • EATS
    • SIPS
    • BOSTON BETTER BEER BUREAU
    • Close
  • LIFESTYLE
    • CANNABIS
      • TALKING JOINTS MEMO
      • Close
    • WELLNESS
    • GTFO
    • Close
  • STUFF TO DO
  • TICKETS
  • ABOUT US
    • ABOUT
    • MASTHEAD
    • ADVERTISE
    • Close
  • BECOME A MEMBER

Dig Bos

The Dig - Greater Boston's Alternative News Source

BOSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT BODY CAMERAS REVEAL VIOLENT BEHAVIORS

Written by SHIRA LAUCHAROEN Posted December 30, 2020 Filed Under: News, News to Us, NEWS+OPINIONS

During the May/June protest, body cameras on Boston police revealed officers’ excessive use of force.

Mass Action Against Police Brutality is demanding the prosecution of police


On the night of May 31 and early morning of June 1, marches and rallies against police brutality swept Boston, and during these demonstrations, many officers wore body cameras. These videos, which documented police behaving violently towards protesters, were recently released and made public in part through the attorney Carl Williams. Mass Action Against Police Brutality is calling for the prosecution and firing of those involved.

“Recently released body camera footage shows a slew of violent yet unsurprising behavior from Boston Police officers that is further evidence of the BPD’s culture of abusive, belligerent policing,” reads a press release. It adds that officers must be held accountable “whether they participated in the violence on the ground or were neglectful and complicit in the cover-up of the abuse afterwards.”

In the clips, members of the Boston Police Department were shown spraying peaceful protesters with relish, shoving people down with batons, or running them down in police vehicles. An article from The Appeal stated that Williams observed a “mob mentality” in the videos, with police bragging about attacking the nonviolent demonstrators. In The Appeal, activist Yaritza Dudley describes her harrowing escape from downtown Boston, while the police made liberal use of tear gas, pepper spray, and physical violence. Mass Action is calling for the restriction of police weapons, as well as the dropping of charges on protesters arrested during the demonstrations. Meanwhile, Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins called the behavior of the police “disturbing” and added that people should be free to practice civil disobedience without being met with violence.

Mass Action will be organizing a March for Justice on MLK Day, or January 18. The event will unite people around the cause of the prosecution of the police, the jailing of killer cops, the reopening of all cases of police brutality, and the end of institutionalized and systemic racism.

“As this body camera footage minds us, police brutality is a threat to everyone concerned about their rights and liberties,” states the press release. “We must be united in demanding that these cops are taken off the force and off of our streets.”

SHIRA LAUCHAROEN
+ posts

Shira Laucharoen is a reporter based in Boston. She currently serves as the assistant director of the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism. In the past she has written for Sampan newspaper, The Somerville Times, Scout Magazine, Boston Magazine, and WBUR.

    This author does not have any more posts.

Filed Under: News, News to Us, NEWS+OPINIONS Tagged With: body cameras, Boston Police Department, Mass Action Against Police Brutality, Protest, Rachael Rollins

WHAT’S NEW

Mass Higher Ed Advocates Urge More Investment In Students 

Mass Higher Ed Advocates Urge More Investment In Students 

Guest Opinion: Promoting Metal Detectors In BPS Perpetuates Dangerous Narrative

Guest Opinion: Promoting Metal Detectors In BPS Perpetuates Dangerous Narrative

State Wire: Mass Leads Nation In 'Green' Building Development

State Wire: Mass Leads Nation In ‘Green’ Building Development

State Wire: Mass Advocates Of Higher Ed Set Goals For Fair Share Revenue

State Wire: Mass Advocates Of Higher Ed Set Goals For Fair Share Revenue

Does Massachusetts Underestimate Its Greenhouse Gas Emissions?

Does Massachusetts Underestimate Its Greenhouse Gas Emissions?

State Wire: The Legacy Of MLK’s Dream Of Economic Justice In Mass

State Wire: The Legacy Of MLK’s Dream Of Economic Justice In Mass

Primary Sidebar

LOCAL EVENTS

AAN Wire


Most Popular

  • 20 Great Tracks To Come Out Of Greater Boston In 2022
  • Think Massachusetts Cannabis Prices Are Low Now? Just Wait Six Months!
  • Why Are Cannabis Prices Really Crashing?
  • A New Beginning For Formerly Incarcerated Women
  • Jerrod Carmichael Has First Show After Coming Out—At the Wilbur In Boston

Footer

Social Buttons

DigBoston facebook DigBoston Twitter DigBoston Instagram

Masthead

About

Advertise

Customer Service

About Us

DigBoston is a one-stop nexus for everything worth doing or knowing in the Boston area. It's an alt-weekly, it's a website, it's an email blast, it's a twitter account, it's that cool party that you were at last night ... hey, you're reading it, so it's gotta be good. For advertising inquiries: sales@digboston.com To reach editorial (and for inquiries about internship opportunities): editorial@digboston.com