In the midst of the media blitz about stoned driving, one might think that at least some outlets would note another story from a couple weeks ago, “Massachusetts banned from using [alcohol] Breathalyzer test pending reforms at state police agency.”
GROSS POINTS BLANK: BOSTON’S TOP COP SHOULD THINK TWICE BEFORE BASHING THE ACLU
BPD Commissioner William Gross has had a bad few days. Last week, ACLU Massachusetts sued the city of Boston for using “a system—nicknamed the ‘gang packet’—which awards points for choice of clothes and social media selfies, and [is] used to designate ‘gang affiliation’ without any accompanying allegations of criminal activity,” according a Guardian article […]
CAUGHT ON CAM-SHARE: BPD SEEKS ACCESS TO PRIVATE SECURITY CAMERAS, EXPERIMENTS WITH NEW SURVEILLANCE NETWORK
For now, the BPD wants to help officers more quickly locate and access footage. However, if the program expands beyond its small introduction—about 13 locations, according to BPD records—it could develop into a centralized surveillance network.
WHAT PEOPLE (DON’T) TALK ABOUT WHEN THEY TALK ABOUT POLICE IN BOSTON
Of course not all cops are bad. But the fact that people feel like they have to begin all condemnations of corrupt police with that preamble is a testament to just how many rotten law enforcement officers there are, and to the way that many of them take out their aggression on those who point out the obvious, all evidence of their atrocities be damned.
CAPE FEAR: SHERIFF SIDES WITH TRUMP AND ICE, AGAINST CONSTITUENTS AND IMMIGRANTS
As the debate over immigration increases in urgency, the Massachusetts sheriff and his department are about to enter into a cooperation agreement with ICE, which would operationalize local forces to assist Trump’s regime in deporting undocumented people on the Cape.
THEY PEPPER-SPRAYED A 10-YR-OLD
The still-anonymous officer is alleged to have “pushed his finger into” a journalist’s rectum and otherwise assaulted him as the arrests were being processed.
‘I CAN’T HANG THEM WITHOUT THEIR WORDS’
BPD arbitrarily blocks press access throughout controversial demonstration
SMALL TOWN SWAT TEAM: A SPECIAL INVESTIGATION INTO THE ‘MILITARIZATION OF MAYBERRY’ IN MASS
An analysis of hundreds of pages of police records shows that small town police departments are amassing enormous arsenals, use SWAT in ways that go beyond their original mission, and are sometimes unable to properly select and train officers.
MASS PROSECUTORS GET REFORM SCHOOLED
Criminal justice reformers respond to Neanderthal district attorneys
FRONT AND CENTER: RACE PLAYS INTO THE BOSTON MAYORAL ELECTION IN MORE WAYS THAN YOU REALIZE
While both candidates have positioned themselves as the best choice for addressing racism in a city that is 53 percent people of color, their outlooks on related issues and strategies regarding how to fix things differ substantially.
