I dont think the mayors office is the right place to do a criminal investigation of the police, Murphy said when asked whether the city had investigated Rocas claims. A police officer says he's on paid administrative leave for refusing to take down the 43-minute video that alleges corruption within the police department in Holyoke, Massachusetts. 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. The stolen vehicle was later recovered in Hartford, CT and one of the vests and some K9 gear was recovered. [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 . At issue in Rocas case was whether he disobeyed a legal order from a superior, brought the Holyoke Police Department into disrepute with his statements, violated policy by posting to social media without permission from the police chief, and made public criticism that was defamatory. In August, the city of Holyoke hired a firm to audit its police department, including its internal affairs processes. Officer Leahy made up a substantial portion of his report, the man wrote. And the department has yet to turn over a single investigation initiated by department supervisors or other agencies, which include allegations of everything from untruthfulness to an intercepted phone conversation revealing possible misconduct from the Hampden County jail, according to the HPDs log. He also called for the FBI or the state attorney generals office to investigate the department. It was not there to help me.. var sellablestring4 = "GAZETTE FILE PHOTO"; (They) never investigated any of my allegations to see if I was lying, he said. Garcia said that a sub-group from the city's Police Relations Advisory Committee reviewed several consulting firms' proposals to conduct the audit. 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. Screenshot from YouTube. He said cities would have to go all in to train civilians to do that work. One is a female who is being trained to investigate sensitive crimes involving children, females and domestic violence. In March, Roca was placed on suspension after his video, which has over 56,000 views, accused officers of false overtime pay, protecting each other from punishment after misconduct and creating a culture of racism and favoritism, especially with promotions. The complaints allege HPD officers engaged in misconduct ranging from brutality and bullying to discourtesy and dishonesty. "Holyoke has always been known as the Paper City. The HPDs top brass did not respond to numerous requests for comment on this story. They pick and choose who they want to discipline and who they dont want to discipline.. I stand behind the video and what I said in it.. On March 9, spokesperson for the Holyoke Police Department Matthew Moriarty confirmed that Roca was on paid leave while an internal investigation was completed regarding the matter. and affiliate links. Another was accused of sexual assault while he was off duty. 'Officer shuffle': Some ousted cops find jobs at new departments in Mass. Reyes, Police Chief David Pratt and Capt. Rafael Roca, 37,. 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. delays new police misconduct database, Dusty Christensen, New England Public Media. HOLYOKE, Mass. 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. An officer ripped his work ID off his neck, he alleged, throwing it to the ground and saying, F--- your program.. 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. Lorna McMurrey, 27, was filling . In-depth news coverage of the Greater Boston Area. And in Amherst, records show that during a 12-year period, theAmherst Police Department investigated 16 civilian complaints; in only one of those cases did an officer face discipline. Roca said he was suspended for violating the departments social media policy, which bars officers from criticizing the department on social media platforms. Febo said that Roca misportrayed some examples of lost or stolen weapons. Holyoke Police Department | Holyoke MA The work of setting up a review board is difficult and time-intensive, Terrill said. 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. 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. But critics have described that body as toothless. 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. HOLYOKE, Mass One person was killed during a shooting at the Holyoke Mall Saturday night, according to the Hampden County District Attorney's office. Mayor Alex Morse said in a statement that he could not comment on a personnel matter. He was deployed to Bosnia from 2003-2004 where he worked with anti-corruption and security forces. Reyes the internal affairs officer found the officers actions justified and proper, and consistent with standard protocols for crash-scene response and safety. Contained within the civilian complaints against HPD officers are allegations ranging from the mundane to the criminal, including accusations that officers violently beat suspects, swore at civilians, used racial slurs, fabricated charges and abused their power. According to Roca, supervisors in the department have lied on the stand. Hours per week:37.5 Weeks per year:52. TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) Tens of thousands of Israelis demonstrated Saturday against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's contentious plan to overhaul the country's legal system, as the governm Read about what we do with the data we gather in our Privacy Policy. The city attorney suggested that under the circumstances the city was getting off easy. There are only two officers in this group that are assigned to specialized units. 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. 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 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. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected the youngest mayor of Holyoke at age 22. Holyoke Police Captain Matthew Moriarty told Western Mass News that Holyoke police officials responded to a report of gunfire on 136 Sargeant Street around 9 p.m. on Tuesday night. Becoming a police officer was his "life long dream" but that dream was "quickly affected" and "hurt" by the corruption and racism of police officers, which "goes back to as long as anyone can remember. Isaac Holyoke, director of communications at CleanSpark, said the shift made it easier for employees to communicate with each other and that employees value "autonomy and flexibility." "People are used to being at home when they can go on business when they need to, and we have kept that culture here in the office," Holyoke said. Who will be eaten first? var sellablestring3 = "STAFF FILE PHOTO"; 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 handwritten log, which tracks civilian and internal complaints against officers and their conclusions, features two entries for Roca. During the debate, City Councilor Jos Maldonado Velez referred to the police as a gang., It literally is, he said in the meeting. The mayors office said it expects the report to be completed in the coming days. Roca responded saying he already appealed the decision to the Massachusetts Civil Service Commission. This story is a production of the New England News Collaborative. In an interview with the Republican, Febo disputed Rocas claims. John Hart was suspended and fined for losing a department-issued sniper rifle. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, told NEPM that she filed the complaint because she wanted to push back against her constituents dominant perception: that there was no point in filing a complaint against the HPD. They took my gun and my badge and kicked me out of the email system," Roca said on Monday,according to MassLive. The suspended officers are listed below: Devon Bones, Holyoke Police Department Bryan Custadio, Fall River Police Department Leon Davis, Springfield Police Department Ernest Fontaine,. Nine of those 12 are in specialized assignments other than patrol operations. ", He calls outgoing Police Chief Manny Febo "corrupt," contending minorities are routinely passed over for upper-tier assignments and disciplined at higher rates. In 1894 the New York State Senate launched the first comprehensive investigation of corruption in the NYPD. var photocredit = photocredit.toUpperCase(); Roca said he has received support from former co-workers who are scared to speak out and from many others in the city. 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. As of March 9, Roca has been suspended from the department due to his violation of a rule prohibiting officers from criticizing the department on social media platforms. Instead of being a man and admitting he made a mistake about seeing me with a firearm, he chose to remain silent and never appeared in court.. He said when he spoke out against the alleged injustice, racism and favoritism and nepotism that he had witnessed, he was punished and shunned. Roca said his attempts to transfer to a different police department were allegedly sabotaged by the chief, and cited a single informal complaint made against him that he said ended with no investigation and him working in an administrative role for more than a month. Roca also suggests the state attorney general or the FBI should look into his claims against Febo and the department. He also called for the FBI or the state attorney generals office to investigate the department. Thats what police was for. Consultoria de Marketing e Publicidade holyoke police corruption. 540K subscribers in the Bad_Cop_No_Donut community. Based on the report, Police Chief David Pratt suspended Roca for five days and recommended that the citys mayor terminate him. In his own time, he said that he witnessed classmates incarcerated as part of the school-to-prison pipeline.. In one 2011 complaint, a civilian alleged that during a traffic stop that involved Officer Jared Hamel, police held a gun to the civilian's head and knocked him unconscious, after which officers stomped on his face and dislocated his jaw. Daily Hampshire Gazette. The police are among the very worst offenders under the current Massachusetts public records regime, even after all of the legislative progress that has been made.. (WWLP) - Holyoke's Chief of Police responded to the allegations of corruption within the department, made by an officer in a widely-circulated YouTube video. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising 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. 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. He said minority candidates get passed over for top positions, as detectives or supervisors. The city of Holyoke is not alone in resisting transparency, and I think thats the only way to describe an 18-month delay in providing access to records that clearly were public, said Jeffrey Pyle, an attorney with the firm Prince Lobel Tye LLP who specializes in media and First Amendment law. He said that is because he is a proactive police officer who tries to engage in crime fighting., I was a very proactive officer, I would do my job, I tried to do traffic stops, he told the Gazette. This story has been updated to include a statement from Chief Manny Febo which he sent to the Gazette midday on Tuesday. 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.. As of March 9, Roca has been suspended from the department due to his violation of a rule prohibiting officers from criticizing the department on social media platforms. I already knew they were going to wait until the last minute, he said. 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. 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 Massachusetts & Pennsylvania Legal Representation. Daily Hampshire Gazette. 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). He also alleged gross negligence by Febo and his "favorites.". The mayor of Holyoke, Massachusetts has appointed a new police chief who will be the first Latino to lead the department. They took my gun and my badge and kicked me out of the email system, Roca toldMasslive.comon Monday. Reyes ultimately exonerated Romero. "I'll probably lose my job, but I'm good. Advocates call for more police oversight after WBUR investigation, Mass. . used triad trailer for sale. The police are policing themselves., Maldonado Velez is not the first city councilor who has come under fire from Holyokes police unions. Of the remaining 34 non-minority officers in this group, 18 are in a specialized assignment. Nobody should get away with taking the law into their own hands and being above it, he said. 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.. I already knew they were going to wait until the last minute, he told the newspaper. I stand behind the video and what I said in it.. The rollout hasnot been smooth, with commissioners sparring overinternal rulesandavailable resources. 234 were here. Despite the high Puerto Rican population in Holyoke, Roca said there are not enough police officers from the community. He was deployed in 2009-2010 to Iraq where he assisted military police . Subscribe Today, Amherst Police Chief Livingstone stepping down in May, Unions: UMass putting 100 jobs in jeopardy with privatization plan, Murdaughs fall from grace ends in life sentence for murder, Biden leaving room to change his mind on reelection. 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. Within the department, he said he had been shamed. 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. Alex Benjamin Morse (born January 29, 1989) is an American politician who served as the 44th mayor of Holyoke, Massachusetts from 2012 to 2021. 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. The chief did, however, address several of the allegations Roca made in the video. In response to a public records request, the HPD has now turned over the 69 investigations it conducted from 2010 through 2019 into civilian complaints. Boing Boing is published under a Creative Commons Locally, the city of Pittsfield has a Police Advisory and Review Board. I think the common response is, Why bother? she said. During the mayoral campaign, Garcias opponent, At-large City Councilor Michael Sullivan, responded to the Gazettes reporting by calling for an audit of the police departments handling of state and federal grant programs, calling the use of overtime excessive. Garcia responded to say that he, too, would support an audit. In the departments investigation, police said they pulled him over for running a stop sign, then tried to tow his car after learning his license was suspended and registration revoked. Skilled in Microsoft Word, Police Procedures, Defensive Tactics, Emergency Management, Law Enforcement, Conflict Resolution and Public Speaking. if (photocredit.indexOf(sellablestring) > -1 || photocredit.indexOf(sellablestring2) > -1 || photocredit.indexOf(sellablestring3) > -1 || photocredit.indexOf(sellablestring4) > -1) { Roca also said that other officers have not been fired after breaking the law driving drunk, for example losing firearms and other misconduct. Theyre there to protect each other, to look out for each other, and to come out with force in our community. 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.. Roca also said he wasnt surprised he was fired, but expressed disappointment that no city, state or federal officials fully investigated his allegations, according to the Gazette. Each police department documented the incident and can be retrieved easily., Febo then addressed the incident in which Roca referred to an officer involving an alleged intentional boat accident. He alleged that later, somebody who had been arrested tipped police off to the rifles location in an effort to receive leniency in court. Springfield this past year reinstituted a civilian Board of Police Commissioners to oversee the department and decide on officer discipline. Roca said in his report that the driver attempted to back into a state trooper, at which point he fired his gun three times at the driver. He said he is disappointed with how city officials reacted to his allegations.