Roca mentioned the incident in his video over the weekend. In 2017, for example, a civilian accused Holyoke police officer Patrick Leahy of putting him through hell for almost a year.. In a nearly 45-minute speech, he alleges that superior officers in the department falsify overtime pay, have protected each other from punishment from misconduct and have fostered a culture of favoritism and racism when it comes to promotion. Roca said he has received support from former co-workers who are scared to speak out and from many others in the city. Following Rocas allegations, the Gazette obtained and analyzed Holyoke Police Department records tracking overtime pay and hours. The HPD is not the only local department that rarely disciplines officers based on civilian complaints. HOLYOKE, Mass One person was killed during a shooting at the Holyoke Mall Saturday night, according to the Hampden County District Attorney's office. 540K subscribers in the Bad_Cop_No_Donut community. But now he finds out if he will be charged with misdemeanor furnishing of alcohol and reckless endangerment of a. 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. Current Police Chief David Pratt suspended Roca in March and then recommended that the mayor terminate Roca. I think the common response is, Why bother? she said. Pyle told NEPM that police departments and other public agencies will continue to withhold records or slow-roll their release until lawmakers improve the states public records law, which many have criticized as one of the least transparent in the country. Roca, a five-year veteran of the police force who served in the U.S. Marines before that, said he refused to remove the video upon Febos orders on Sunday. Roca said he also plans to file a lawsuit over his treatment. The HPDs log of complaints and internal investigations contains no evidence the department ever opened an internal investigation into the incident. Pages 17 Course Hero uses AI to attempt to automatically extract content from documents to surface to you and others so you can study better, e.g., in search results, to enrich docs, and more. All rights reserved, FIRST ALERT: Storm Hitting Greater Boston Live Radar, Updates. Youre immediately going into this intimidating environment and youre having to go up to the desk sergeant asking for this, and then youre put on ice and made to sit there, Terrill said. Concepcion is not the first to allege that the HPD resisted taking his complaint. 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. 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. The suspected shooter is in custody. 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. Pictured above: thumbnail of the Youtube video posted by Holyoke police officer Rafael Roca. 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. var sellablestring = "GAZETTE STAFF"; Play all audios: Loading. . v. Civil Service . '"; Roca also suggests the state attorney general or the FBI should look into his claims against Febo and the department. Compare the best Police Misconduct lawyers near Holyoke, MA today. (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. 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. That transparency has been slow to arrive, however. I already knew they were going to wait until the last minute, he told the newspaper. One is a female who is being trained to investigate sensitive crimes involving children, females and domestic violence. But he said other studies have found that civilian review boards have a minimal effect on accountability. More Local News to Love Start today for 50% off Expires 3/6/23. Roca said the straw that broke the camels back and resulted in him posting the video was a call from a coworker he received the day the video was posted, March 7. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Despite the high Puerto Rican population in Holyoke, Roca said there are not enough police officers from the community. //LBtag_id.innerHTML = ''; var sellablestring3 = "STAFF FILE PHOTO"; If youre in the police department, you have to obey orders.. That decision was made after a Holyoke police officer publicly alleged corruption within the HPD and a Daily Hampshire Gazette investigation found what some characterized as "excessive. 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. Ill probably lose my job, but Im good. He alleged that he was denied a job with the University of Massachusetts Amherst campus police at the request of his police chief and that when he saved the life of a white state trooper, the state trooper was rewarded over himself. Position Type:Staff Full-time. Use our free directory to instantly connect with verified Police Misconduct attorneys. Tagged: Holyoke, Rafael Roca, Holyoke Police Department, Manny Febo, YouTube, Ella White, Pioneer Valley, Italian professors departure would mean end of Italian major and minor programs, Students mobilize against the rise in tuition costs/tuition increase, Holyoke police officer suspended after alleging corruption. 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. I stand behind the video and what I said in it.. Alex Benjamin Morse (born January 29, 1989) is an American politician who served as the 44th mayor of Holyoke, Massachusetts from 2012 to 2021. ", Police departments in America have a lot of unnecessary military hardware, thanks to sweetheart deals between legislators and arms dealers that allow for layers of creative financial accounting as long READ THE REST, Here's how creator Johnny Damm explains the project: Can policing be reformed? She testified she complained about her sons beating, was assured the matter was being investigated but was never instructed on what other steps she could take to formally complain against police.. Springfield this past year reinstituted a civilian Board of Police Commissioners to oversee the department and decide on officer discipline. Instead of arresting the driver, Monsalve, one of a number of officers who responded, decided to park the drivers car and give him a ride back home. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. var sellablestring4 = "GAZETTE FILE PHOTO"; It was originally published by New England Public Media. Another was accused of sexual assault while he was off duty. ", He calls out corrupt officers, including the "corrupt police chief, and he is out to get me" He also talks about the "vast misrepresentation when it comes to minority police officers. used triad trailer for sale. When Massachusetts lawmakers passed a sweeping police reform law in late 2020, one of the bills provisions opened up law enforcement misconduct investigations to greater scrutiny under the states public records law. Screenshot from YouTube. designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated 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. Pratt said that Roca can still present his case to the Civil Service Commission. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. It's that point in the year 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. Ill probably lose my job, but Im good. In a statement, Pratt said he knows that both the FBI and Attorney General looked into Mr. Rocas allegations and found zero evidence to open an investigation. 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. Based on the report, Police Chief David Pratt suspended Roca for five days and recommended that the citys mayor terminate him. Holyoke Officer Rafael Roca, a former Marine hired in 2016, said in the 43-minute video posted on YouTube that Chief Manny Febo is corrupt and plays favorites, and he argued that members of minority groups are passed over for plum assignments and that discipline is handed out selectively. 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.. One of our detectives who is assigned to a task force had his task force vehicle broken into, he said. 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. Hours per week:37.5 Weeks per year:52. Murphy didnt have to answer to anybody. Police Capt. At the time, Roca told the commission that he had told Monsalve he was OK with the driver being placed in protective custody instead of being arrested because he did not view it as his decision.. But the police reform bill changed that, clarifying that those investigations are not personnel records. Holyoke police officer parks in the train station on Main Street on Wednesday, April 28, 2021. Service, a Creative Commons For example, he characterized it as a workplace where now-former Police Chief Manny Febo favorites were not disciplined despite losing weapons and facing restraining orders, according to the accusations. His video, posted Sunday, has been viewed 27,000 times. Some people who filed a complaint with the HPD said that officers actions impacted their lives long after the alleged misconduct took place. 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 . He was also advised that he is not to respond to his own complaints while off duty., Lastly, Febo responded to Rocas claim that minority officers are not given opportunities for specialized assignments. 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. 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 man, whose name the department redacted, said Leahy accused him of raising a handgun as he crossed the street in front of Leahys cruiser. of var tag_id = document.getElementById('buylinkHolyokePD-hg031021,ph1'); In his internal report on the incident, HPDs internal affairs officer, Manuel Reyes, said police pulled over Concepcion for a traffic violation. 8. A 2020 city report of the top 100 salaries in the city shows that, including school staff, 18 out of the top 20 highest paid city employees that year were police officers. It's Boston local news in one concise, fun and informative email. Roca also alleged that he has been the subject of retaliation for speaking out about misconduct in the department. The chief did, however, address several of the allegations Roca made in the video. He was reelected three times, with his final term expiring in January 2022. Roca was immediately placed on administrative leave as the department conducted an internal investigation. He also called for the FBI or the state attorney generals office to investigate the department. //var LBtag_id = document.getElementById('buylinkLBHolyokePD-hg031021,ph1'); The Hampden District Attorney's Office told NEPM it was unable to confirm this report or comment on it without more information, like the name of the defendant, which was redacted from the public records response. 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. He says he was consistently singled out for vocalizing his opposition to the police chief, made to repeat pieces of training and attacked via email for not supporting one supervisors protest against police reform. ", He calls outgoing Police Chief Manny Febo "corrupt," contending minorities are routinely passed over for upper-tier assignments and disciplined at higher rates. 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. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising The investigating officers found that Roca had violated four department policies: failing to comply with an order to take his video down, unbecoming conduct, criticism of the department and social media rules. He added, I want to [assure] 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.. var tag_id = document.getElementById('buylinkRocaHolyokeFiring-hg-111721,ph1'); var currentheadline = document.getElementById("headline").innerText; Months later, on Nov. 10, then acting mayor Terence Murphy followed Pratts recommendation, firing Roca after a city lawyer determined that there was just cause, the Gazette reported. 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. Mayor Alex Morse said in a statement that he could not comment on a personnel matter. 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. That is roughly 53 percent of non-minority officers with eight years or more who are assigned to specialized assignments., Additional he said there were 38 officers total with six years or less of full-time experience, Of those 38, 17 are minority officers. 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. In an interview, POST Commission Executive Director Enrique Zuniga said the agencys investigations will eventually come before the full commission, which can go so far as to decertify officers found to have violated state standards a career-ending type of decision, Zuniga said. In March, Rafael Roca, who had been a Holyoke police officer since 2015, posted the video to YouTube, where it has since been viewed more than 56,000 times. Others, he added, have managed to escape from serious instances of misconduct without any disciplinary action. Youre supposed to act a certain way, talk a certain way. Because when you speak up and you expose corruption, he said in the video, thats what they do.. The agency still has not released that data because of the need to clean up and validate the massive data set, according to Zuniga. 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. He said that Febo and others have stepped in to prevent him from getting jobs with other police departments. var sellablestring2 = "STAFF PHOTO"; Roca said he expected to face discipline after posting the video but was invested in calling attention to what he saw as problems within the department. The complaints allege HPD officers engaged in misconduct ranging from brutality and bullying to discourtesy and dishonesty. March 9, 2021. 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. But some will be missing, Mass. Some complaints involve allegations that police officers broke the law. 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. The attorney generals office declined to comment on Tuesday. When. license except where otherwise noted. He said he felt as though for too long officers have been afraid to speak up and wanted this to change. According to the Holyoke Fire Department, at approximately 8:30 p.m . In another case filed in 2018, a city resident wrote on their complaint form: It shouldnt take over an hour to get this paperwork to file a complaint., In 2017, former Holyoke resident Janette Hernandez Pagan sued the city, claiming HPD officers beat her 12-year-old son unconscious in 2014. var photocredit = photocredit.toUpperCase(); Of those 18 officers, eight made more than $200,000. 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. Work Schedule:Monday through Friday Department Summary & Job Purpose: The Assistant Vice President for Civil Rights and Title IX Coordinator is a key leader of the College's equity and compliance work and an essential member of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion team centered around creating an inclusive campus community . Graduated from 36th Massachusetts Police Officer . Ultimately, police found the weapon in February 2012 while Morse was riding along with officers on duty. Pyle represented the WorcesterTelegram & Gazettein the newspapers 2018 lawsuit against the city of Worcester over its police departments illegal withholding of misconduct records. For those reasons, Reyes cleared the officers of violating department policies. The suspended officers are listed below: Devon Bones, Holyoke Police Department Bryan Custadio, Fall River Police Department Leon Davis, Springfield Police Department Ernest Fontaine,. Reyes, Police Chief David Pratt and Capt. The mayors office said it expects the report to be completed in the coming days. We reenter the clubhouse, as we go back to the pool table the brother that just received the pot starts to brag about having a brother as a Holyoke police officer and that he gets stuff like pot and can make some money that way., In its investigation, the HPD found the allegations against Monfett not sustained because there was insufficient evidence to either prove or disprove the allegation.. Hed be gone by then.. They pick and choose who they want to discipline and who they dont want to discipline.. 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. HOLYOKE - A Holyoke police officer recently released a YouTube video accusing the Holyoke Police Department of corruption. Nine of those 12 are in specialized assignments other than patrol operations. 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. var currentLocation = window.location; He said: The chief saw your video and hes ordering you to take it down, Roca said. Roca said that as a result, supervisors have given him a bad image that has influenced others in the department. When the state Legislature passed its police reform bill, state Senate President Karen E. Spilka, D-Ashland, described the legislation as a necessary first step towards achieving systemic change through law enforcement accountability and transparency.. Growing up Puerto Rican in the Flats neighborhood of Holyoke one of the citys majority-Hispanic lower wards Maldonado Velez said he heard plenty of stories from those whom that system harmed. In his own time, he said that he witnessed classmates incarcerated as part of the school-to-prison pipeline.. He was deployed in 2009-2010 to Iraq where he assisted military police . At least 85,000 law enforcement officers across the USA have been investigated or disciplined for misconduct over the past decade, an investigation by USA TODAY Network found. 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. Former Brockton RMV manager, driving school owner charged by U.S. Attorney with giving passing test scores to people who failed, Complete Boston payroll for 2022: Your Tax Dollars at Work, Boston drug trafficker set to do 11 years in prison, give up Louis Vuitton bags, feds say, Union drive: Uber, Lyft drivers rally for right to unionize, Boston sees first open race for Suffolk Superior civil court clerk magistrate in nearly 50 years, High school tournaments: Winchester stuns No. Locally, the city of Pittsfield has a Police Advisory and Review Board. and affiliate links. Yeah, they didnt waste any time. Wheres my due process in that?. You have been subscribed to WBUR Today. The officers on the scene denied that they had drawn their weapons and challenged the extent of the mans injuries; they said he refused to get out of the car and then reached for the center console. He said he is disappointed with how city officials reacted to his allegations. Holyoke officer alleges corruption within, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Holyoke police officer alleges corruption within department, Many ambulances roll for excessive drinking at UMass Amhersts Blarney Blowout, Vermont bishop testifies against clergy reporting bill, All about eagle nest cameras in Massachusetts, Massachusetts charity helps save thousands of animals in need in war-torn Ukraine, 'Significant burst' of heavy snow possible for areas of Massachusetts, up to 12 inches potential in spots, Alex Murdaugh killed wife, son to buy time, prosecutor says, Boston employee payroll data shows more big-money employees than ever. "I'll probably lose my job, but I'm good. He also made the case that his statements were on matters of public concern; a Holyoke Police Department rule bars criticism of the department except on matters of public concern.. HOLYOKE, Mass. "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. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. The police, for me, was used as a reminder to stay in my place. Amid Pandemic, Boston Loses Title as Country's Worst City for Traffic, Biden Hopes to Boost Offshore Wind as Mass. Prosecutors pressed charges against him until the day he showed up for his trial, when he said they informed him they were dropping the case. Of the remaining 34 non-minority officers in this group, 18 are in a specialized assignment. In-depth news coverage of the Greater Boston Area. More Local News to Love Start today for 50% off Expires 3/6/23, Holyoke Police Officer Rafael Roca suspended after posting viral video alleging corruption at the department, Because of this video I will probably be fired: Holyoke officer alleges police corruption in viral video, Holyokes fiscal future appears bright as Joshua Garcia enters office. Beyond changing the public records law, the 2020 police reform bill also created a new state agency, thePeace Officer Standards and Training Commission, which now tracks police departments internal investigations and can conduct its own preliminary inquiries into alleged misconduct. tag_id.innerHTML = ''; Holyoke Police Department's 24 hour anonymous "TEXT-A-TIP" Dial CRIMES (533-TIPS or 533-8477). Our forum rules are detailed in the Community Guidelines. It was not there to help me.. I wasnt looking for them to be on my side, but youd think if somebody was making allegations about their city they may have questions themselves.. This followed years of battles between the mayor and City Council over control of the department and the effectiveness of a previous advisory panel, the Civilian Community Police Hearing Board. One officer was accused of using his siren at a drive-thru window to get his ice cream more quickly. He attested that state troopers consistently call him to translate for them, as they do not have enough Spanish speakers on the force. Im very confident that something is going to come of it, he said. N/A civilian complaints of police misconduct. I plan to fight this to the end. Click here to sign up for our weekly coronavirus newsletter. SCREENSHOT/YOUTUBE 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. Murphy said that neither the district attorneys office nor the attorney generals office ever spoke to him about any investigation of Rocas allegations. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Holyoke Police Department | Holyoke MA Bryan Custadio, Fall River Police Department. And often, legal protections and collective bargaining agreements with police unions prevent those boards from interviewing officers, he added. Roca said he hopes the Massachusetts government will audit the department. It took the HPD more than a year and a half to turn over its 69 internal investigations, all of which the department redacted to remove information about the person alleging misconduct. In January, Holyoke settled the police brutality suit against the city and officers for $65,000.