Boston’s police review board was primed to push for reforms. Years later, its impact is negligible

Howard is quoted in this Boston Globe article: Boston’s police review board was primed to push for reforms. Years later, its impact is negligible. The oversight panel designed years ago to monitor investigations of complaints against the Boston Police Department has had essentially zero impact. Mayor Walsh recently commissioned a task force, which is expected to issue a report in mid-August that may include recommendations on how to strengthen the existing oversight panel. To effectively hold police accountable for their misconduct, the oversight panel must be given more power. The Boston community is demanding a radical change in the way our police department operates. A transformed civilian oversight panel could play an important role in a re-envisioned police department. We must continue to pay attention to this because as the history of the oversight panel reveals, sometime the more things change, the more they stay the same. 

Massachusetts should make it easier to access police records

Howard is quoted in this article: Gov. Baker’s reform bill would make it easier to access police records. A new emergency bill would make changes to the Massachusetts Public Records Law by requiring more police records to be made public. Keeping track of police disciplinary records is important way to promote police accountability, identify problem officers, and recognize patterns of abuse. Howard points out that in order to better identify these patterns, the state should keep track of all complaints made against police, even the ones that don’t result in discipline or reprimand.

Weak public records law still allows police and other government agencies to withhold information

We recommend Colman Herman’s latest article in Commonwealth magazine: Meet the new public records law – same as the old one. Although the Massachusetts Public Records Law was updated in 2017, it remains one of the weakest in the country. Herman’s article describes how law enforcement organizations such as the Boston Police Department and the Massachusetts State Police routinely fail to provide documents. Other government offices such as the MBTA have tried to claim that certain records are exempt from disclosure; sometimes they had to produce the records after losing an appeal, but other times Attorney General Maura Healey has reversed an appeal, causing records to remain secret.  

A strong public records law is vital to a healthy democracy. Some of the records Herman seeks are complaints made against government officials for racial and gender discrimination, draft settlement agreements made with a state trooper, and disciplinary actions taken against licensed massage therapists for sexual misconduct.

Public records are a powerful tool for police accountability. Public access to police disciplinary information would help individuals, communities, and movements such as Black Lives Matter to identify systemic problems in police departments and demand change.

Letter to Congress Supporting End of Qualified Immunity

We are members of the National Police Accountability Project, which published this letter in support of the End Qualified Immunity Act and the Justice in Policing Act. These bills would allow us to be more successful in holding police accountable when they violate people’s rights. The current doctrine of Qualified Immunity “hobbles one of the most effective tools for police accountability and prevents those whose rights are violated from seeking justice while simultaneously imposing enormous costs on courts and litigants.” The letter describes specific examples of how Qualified Immunity has permitted police officers to get away with amoral and criminal conduct such as stealing over $225,000 during the search of a person’s home.

Buffalo police pushed an old man — but said he tripped. Because police lie.

We recommend reading this article and watching the video that shows Buffalo police officers shove a man to the ground. The man’s head hits the ground and begins bleeding. Officers written report said he “tripped & fell.” This is yet another example of police brutality followed by a false report. But the lie was caught on camera, so the police lied again saying the initial report was a mistake.

Police Misconduct Records Are Secret. Protests May Finally Change That.

The grief, rage, and community organizing regarding the recent murders of more Black people by police officers is creating the possibility of change across the county. As more and more people are convinced that police departments should be defunded, there is also a push for reforms that increase public safety and police accountability without allocating more power to police. One such reform is that police misconduct records must be made public. We recommend this article about the fight to overturn a New York law that shields police officers from scrutiny by keeping their complaint histories secret. 

Police secrecy is a problem in Massachusetts as well. Here, although we can typically learn if an officer has a history of complaints such as brutality or false arrest, there is no law that requires a police department to reveal what discipline, if any, the officer received. The reasons for imposing discipline are also kept secret. Without knowing the discipline, the public cannot know if police officers are being held accountable when they violate people’s rights.

Black Lives Matter. Take Action to Hold Police Accountable.

Black lives matter. We must end systemic racism and misuse of deadly force in our police departments. There are many actions you can take to hold police accountable. One set of strategies is #8cantwait, a project by Campaign Zero. #8cantwait proposes 8 policies to decrease police violence. Data shows that police departments with these 8 policies kill fewer people:

1.        Ban Chokeholds & Strangleholds

2.        Require De-Escalation

3.        Require Warning Before Shooting

4.        Requires Exhaust All Alternatives Before Shooting

5.        Duty To Intervene

6.        Ban Shooting At Moving Vehicles

7.        Require Use Of Force Continuum

8.        Require Comprehensive Reporting

Take action now by asking your city or town to enact these policies in your police department. The project’s website provides data about which policies are lacking in specific cities, as well as contact information for your mayor/sheriff, and a phone script you can use.

Powerful Sheriffs Rarely Held To Account As Families Fight For The Truth

Read or listen to the final segment of the WBUR investigation Dying on the Sheriff's Watch: Powerful Sheriffs Rarely Held To Account As Families Fight For The Truth. When people die in a jail or prison, their family members are often left in the dark, lied to, or given incomplete information. Families’ search for truth and justice is thwarted by the legal resources of sheriffs. Holding sheriffs accountable—through lawsuits and other means—is a challenge.

COVID-19 is spreading in our nation's jails and prisons, and the health care system will not be able to handle the cases. This is the Week of Action to demand release of incarcerated people. Today’s action is to post up photos and videos using #FreeOurFamilies - take a picture or a video of yourself with a #FreeOurFamilies sign letting everyone know you want loved ones released from incarceration. If you have an incarcerated loved one, lift them up! If you are formerly incarcerated, lift up your experience and how important it is that we free our people during this crisis. If you’re an ally, lift up the message that incarcerated people are an important part of our communities, and incarcerated people deserve dignity and well-being regardless of accusation or conviction. For more info on the Week of Action and why this action is necessary, follow this link: https://tinyurl.com/maweekofaction.

Inside One Jail's Health Care Problems And ‘Culture Of Impunity’

What happens when guards control access to prisoners’ medical care? Part 3 of the WBUR story Dying on the Sheriff's Watch focuses on the role of guards as gatekeepers to medical care in custody. This quote explains the problem: “Jails and prisons are there to confine and punish,” said Nancy Neveloff Dubler, professor emerita at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and an ethics specialist in jail care. “Health care is there to care for and to cure. Those are antithetically opposed goals.”

This WBUR story discusses one of our cases in which a young man named Sam Dunn died after being held in an Essex County Sheriff’s van for hours. He was experiencing a medical emergency—an overdose that could have been prevented with proper medical care—but the officers in the van never checked on him until it was too late. As Sam’s father says, “They just basically ignored him to death.”

It is not uncommon for guards and medical staff in jails to ignore sick people. In another one of our cases, staff claimed our client was faking her undetectable pulse and blood pressure. By the time a doctor examined her, she was dead.

When COVID-19 spreads in our nation's jails and prisons the health care system will not be able to handle the cases. This is the Week of Action to demand release of incarcerated people. Today’s action is to call, email, and tweet the Governor and tell him to use his Clemency powers to release all people who are older than 50 and people who are medically vulnerable, and order the parole board to grant parole for all eligible people. Tell the Governor that people released from incarceration need housing and healthcare, and to make emergency funding available to support people’s transition back into the community. For more info on the Week of Action and why this action is necessary, follow this link: https://tinyurl.com/maweekofaction.

Pain And Profits: Sheriffs Hand Off Inmate Care To Private Health Companies

Here is Part 2 of WBUR’s 4-part series called Dying on the Sheriff’s Watch: Pain And Profits: Sheriffs Hand Off Inmate Care To Private Health Companies. Massachusetts sheriffs charge jail health care providers a penalty if they send prisoners to hospital visits more than a set number of times. Poor health care is the number one complaint of people who are incarcerated in Massachusetts. This must change. One change on a national level would be to allow people to have Medicaid coverage even if they are incarcerated.

If you are moved by this series and concerned for our communities’ health during this pandemic, note that this is the Week of Action to demand release of incarcerated people. Today’s action is to call your county’s sheriff and tell them to release all people in pre-trial detention and people with less than 6 months left of their sentence and identify all people over 50 and people who are medically vulnerable who can be released. For more info on the Week of Action and why this action is necessary, follow this link: https://tinyurl.com/maweekofaction.

When Inmates Die Of Poor Medical Care, Jails Often Keep It Secret

Please take 10 minutes to listen to WBUR’s report: When Inmates Die Of Poor Medical Care, Jails Often Keep It Secret. This is the first of a 4-part series called Dying on the Sheriff’s Watch. Even before the coronavirus pandemic began, most of the deaths of prisoners in our jails were caused by poor medical care. Jails should release prisoners, including many people who are being held because they cannot afford bail, to protect their health and to limit the spread of the virus and the toll on our health care system.

If you are moved by this series and concerned for our communities’ health during this pandemic, note that this is the Week of Action to demand release of incarcerated people. Today’s action is to call your county’s sheriff and tell them to release all people in pre-trial detention and people with less than 6 months left of their sentence and identify all people over 50 and people who are medically vulnerable who can be released. For more info on the Week of Action and why this action is necessary, follow this link: https://tinyurl.com/maweekofaction.

Massachusetts should make police discipline records public

Massachusetts state legislators should pass laws to require that the results of internal complaints against police officers, such as complaints of police brutality and false arrest, become public. Currently, Maryland is considering such a bill. Howard is quoted in this article about the bills being considered by Maryland lawmakers: Maryland General Assembly considers policing reforms. This conversation in Maryland is propelled by the 2018 death of teenager Anton Black in police custody. The article describes how making police discipline records public would increase transparency and accountability for police departments.

In order for the public to have faith in the police disciplinary system, unsustained complaints should also be public. Most complaints are unsustained because police departments rarely accept the word of a civilian over that of a police officer. But police experts know that a pattern of unsustained complaints can be a signal that the police officer needs to change their behavior.

How To Sue If You're Assaulted By Police Or Prison Guards; Your Civil Rights When It Comes To Police Brutality In Massachusetts

Howard is quoted throughout this article published by Super Lawyers: How To Sue If You're Assaulted By Police Or Prison Guards; Your Civil Rights When It Comes To Police Brutality In Massachusetts.

The article discusses what you need to prove in order to bring a police misconduct lawsuit under Section 1983, the federal civil rights act. Howard describes some of the legal advantages of this civil rights law. He explains the importance of showing that a police officer’s unconstitutional actions are caused by a policy or custom of their employer, the city.

The article describes some of the hurdles in police misconduct and prisoners’ right cases, such as the Prison Litigation Reform Act, which severely limits a person’s ability to bring a case while they are incarcerated, and the doctrine of Qualified Immunity, which can be used to defeat civil rights claims such as police brutality.

The article sums up what you can do to protect your rights: 1) Get any necessary medical attention. 2) Secure and organize all relevant evidence, and 3) Contact a Massachusetts Civil Rights Attorney.

Accused of harassment and assault, these police officers moved to new jobs with clean records

Howard is quoted in this Washington Post article: Accused of harassment and assault, these police officers moved to new jobs with clean records. This article describes a phenomenon that happens in Massachusetts and across the county: sometimes police officers who commit serious misconduct are allowed to resign and take new jobs in different police departments. The new departments don’t know about the officers’ past misconduct because it’s not mentioned in reference checks or personnel files. 

This article provides an in-depth look at one Maryland police department where a police department records clerk, Maria, was routinely sexually harassed. Maria reported the harassment and an investigator found her to be credible. The officers were not disciplined; instead they left the department and got new jobs in another small town nearby. Maria, on the other hand, lost her job when the department eliminated her position.

When officers commit sexual harassment, excessive force, false arrests, or other acts of misconduct, they should not be permitted to resign before they are disciplined.

Testimony Raises Questions About Drinking By Springfield Police

Howard is quoted in this article about the Springfield Police’s culture of drinking alcohol while on the clock: Testimony Raises Questions About Drinking By Police At Springfield, Mass., Headquarters. At least 6 officers in the narcotics unit have admitted to observing or participating in drinking at the police station. Numerous officers acknowledged that the station had a vending machine full of beers.

This testimony came to light because of a 2016 incident in which SPD officers assaulted our client, who was 14 at the time. Our client was brought to the ground and repeatedly bitten by a police dog. While our client was handcuffed, Officer Gregg Bigda kicked him in the face and spit on him. Later, Officer Bigda was recorded on video at the Palmer police station threatening two other boys and bragging about how he could brutalize them and plant drugs on them with impunity. Officer Bigda is alleged to have been drinking rum throughout the evening. Other SPD officers were alleged to have also been drinking and to have been aware of Officer Bigda’s intoxication.

Federal Court: Cops Accused Of Stealing Over $225,000 Have Legal Immunity

We recommend this article about a very concerning decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals: Federal Court: Cops Accused Of Stealing Over $225,000 Have Legal Immunity. During a 2013 raid, police officers stole over $225,000. They reported a significantly smaller amount on the inventory report. The court ruled that the officers are protected by a defense called qualified immunity. Qualified immunity is complicated, but its essential concept is that a police officer is not liable for violating anyone’s rights, unless they violate a right that is “clearly established” and obvious to any reasonable officer. The article says, “Incredibly, even though the judges conceded that ‘virtually every human society teaches that theft generally is morally wrong,’ the Ninth Circuit flatly denied it was ‘obvious’ the officers were in the wrong legally.” Several civil liberties organizations are urging the court to revisit the case.

False police reports raise questions on other Fall River criminal cases

Howard is quoted in this article that asks whether Fall River criminal cases should be reexamined now that multiple Fall River police officers have admitted to lying to cover up a fellow officer's use of force: False police reports raise questions on other Fall River criminal cases. Officer Michael Pessoa is currently facing 15 counts of excessive force-related criminal charges. Earlier this year our firm settled a police brutality case against officer Pessoa for $225,000. Howard's quotes in the article emphasize that honesty is a requirement to be a police officer.

Howard Friedman listed in The Best Lawyers in America© for Civil Rights Law

Howard was selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America© 2020 for his work in Civil Rights Law. Howard has successfully handled civil rights cases for clients with complaints of police misconduct, police brutality, false arrests, wrongful convictions, illegal strip searches, violations of prisoners’ rights, and more.

WATCH: Connecticut State Troopers accidentally recorded themselves discussing plans to falsify a police report

Check out this article, which includes a video of Connecticut state troopers discussing how to lie in an arrest report. The police did not realize that the camera they confiscated was still recording their conversation.

This video is from 2015. In 2016, the ACLU filed a lawsuit, which is still pending. A state police internal affairs investigation cleared the officers of any misconduct even though the officers were recorded discussing what they could say to justify their actions and added that they “gotta cover our ass.”

Video is useful to expose police misconduct, but when the police investigate themselves, civilian complaints are not taken seriously and brutality often goes unchecked.

Secrets, secrets are no fun: Transparency is needed to thwart police misconduct, but Massachusetts’s public records law provides little help

As that familiar childhood adage goes: “Secrets, secrets are no fun. Secrets, secrets, hurt someone.” Unfortunately, this wisdom has been lost on many state legislatures and police departments who have kept civilians’ complaints and police misconduct records under wraps. Without strong public records laws the public suffers because officers are shielded from robust and transparent disciplinary processes.

In a recent victory, the California legislature passed Senate Bill 1421, which requires California police departments to publicize complaints, internal investigations, and records of certain prior misconduct. Proponents of the bill successfully argued that transparency is the only way to hold police officers accountable and to build trust between the community and the police. Without public access to complaints against police officers, departments can get away with shoddy and biased internal investigations, or no investigations at all. Officers who prove time and again to be either dangerous, incompetent, or both can keep their jobs and effectively conceal their records. Without public accountability, police brutality, wrongful convictions, and false arrests continue unchecked. California’s bill is part of a larger trend towards demanding higher levels of transparency from police departments. In theory, Massachusetts is ahead of the curve given the recent reform to the state’s public records law. But in practice, Massachusetts residents are still fighting an uphill battle to get their records requests fulfilled.

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