• 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

DOES THE FORMER BPD COMMISSIONER EVEN LIVE IN BOSTON?

Written by ZACK HUFFMAN Posted January 28, 2021 Filed Under: News, News to Us, NEWS+OPINIONS

Gross, rumored as mayoral candidate, didn’t register to vote in Hub until October 2019 


Outgoing Boston Police Commissioner William Gross, who personally only spent about half of his tenure in compliance with the city’s residency requirement, appears to have set an example for a department that has frequently struggled to remain compliant.

Gross suddenly announced his retirement from the force with a one-day notice on Thursday morning amid speculation that he could be preparing to throw his oversized hat into the mayoral ring.

Gross is a 37-year veteran on the Boston police force. For the first 10 years of service, Boston police must live within the city limits. Like many of his fellow officers, Gross eventually went suburban and moved south of the border to Milton.

He was legally allowed to remain outside the city until 2018, when he was appointed to be Boston’s top cop. After which he appears to have maintained two homes—one in Boston in addition to his Milton home. According to public records, he is not the owner of either property, so it is unclear at which address he most frequently laid his head.

By the time Gross was named commissioner, he had been living in Milton for many years, according to a decade of the city’s annual earnings reports for the police department. As recently as September 2018, Gross told the Patriot Ledger that he was a Milton resident. 

Boston Municipal Code 5-5.3 mandates that all sworn members of the police command staff live in the City of Boston. Specifically, they must be both a resident and registered voter in the city within six months after the job.

Gross assumed office, becoming the city’s first Black police commissioner, on Aug 6, 2018. But he did not register to vote in the city until Oct 24, 2019 according to the city’s Elections Department.

Gross’s delinquency is not exclusive to the department. There are frequently a few dozen in the BPD who cannot get their compliance paperwork in each year, according to Eileen Boyle, who sits on the city’s Residency Compliance Commission.

“Every year, we have a list of people that don’t get their paperwork in. We chase them all year long,” Boyle said. “I kind of put it on the department heads themselves. They are the ones that seem to not be able to rally their employees to get the work done.”

Historically, the fire and police departments tend to have comparable numbers of delinquent employees, but that changed in mid-2020 when a new BFD union president took office. Just weeks after John Soares became the new union head, he was able to get the department back into compliance, according to Boyle.

“He was handed the list of firefighters that had not come in with their paperwork. There were like 20 of them,” Boyle said. “He contacted each one and said, ‘Get your paperwork in today,’ and they did. That is leadership.”

Boston cops had to remain city residents the entire time they were employed. That changed in 2010 as part of the city’s contract negotiations with the police union that limited the requirement to police with less than 10 years of service under their belts.

“You’re not looking for every single police officer,” Boyle said. “Whoever is in charge in the police department is not keeping up with this.”

The BPD failed to respond to a request for comment. The Mayor’s press office also failed to respond when asked if the mayor was aware of Gross’ non-compliance.

Mayor Marty Walsh appointed Superintendent Dennis White to replace his boss. White, who is another suburbanite, currently lives in Randolph, according to the city’s latest earnings report.

He has six months to fix that.

ZACK HUFFMAN
+ posts

Zack is a veteran reporter. He writes for DigBoston and VICE, and formerly reported for the Boston Courant and Bulletin Newspapers.

  • ZACK HUFFMAN
    https://digboston.com/author/zack-huffman/
    Tainted Drug Evidence Victims Still Waiting For Settlement Payments
  • ZACK HUFFMAN
    https://digboston.com/author/zack-huffman/
    Parabola Center Announces 50 Partners In Effort To Boost Independent Cannabis Businesses
  • ZACK HUFFMAN
    https://digboston.com/author/zack-huffman/
    GUNS & GRAVY: THE PILGRIM GANG THAT COULDN’T SHOOT STRAIGHT

Filed Under: News, News to Us, NEWS+OPINIONS Tagged With: 2021 mayoral race, bospoli, Boston, BPD, news, news to us, Police

WHAT’S NEW

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

Will Tablets Increase Returning Citizen Success, Or Be Another Way To Exploit Inmates?

Will Tablets Increase Returning Citizen Success, Or Be Another Way To Exploit Inmates?

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