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Notes. Pratt said that Roca can still present his case to the Civil Service Commission. 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. 'Holyoke police officer Rafael Roca alleges there iscorruption and racism in the Holyoke Police Department. sales //LBtag_id.innerHTML = ''; It was not there to help me.. Holyoke Police Department Friday: 03/25/2022 Juvenile (16) from Springfield is charged with: Possession of Class A Possession of Class A to Distribute Possession of Ammunition without a FID. We were unable to subscribe you to WBUR Today. 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 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 suspended officers are listed below: Devon Bones, Holyoke Police Department Bryan Custadio, Fall River Police Department Leon Davis, Springfield Police Department Ernest Fontaine,. While on the ground, [redacted] placed his hands under him refusing to place his hands behind him forcing Officer Romero to again employ more force to force his hands behind him, Reyes wrote. Daily Hampshire Gazette. 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. He also alleged gross negligence by Febo and his "favorites.". In 2014, the president of the patrol-officer union wrote a scathing letter to the City Council denouncing Councilors Rebecca Lisi and Jossie Valentin for marching in a Black Lives Matter protest where he said some protesters used anti-police rhetoric., Since that moment, it was very evident to me that some members of the Holyoke Police Department were not happy with me and with Rebecca, Valentin told NEPM in an interview from Puerto Rico, where she now lives. Despite the high Puerto Rican population in Holyoke, Roca said there are not enough police officers from the community. 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. var photocredit = photocredit.toUpperCase(); Many of those officers all but one of whom are supervisors collected tens of thousands of dollars last year in overtime pay. Image courtesy by Kate Turner 21. On Nov. 10, then acting mayor Terence Murphy followed that recommendation after a city lawyer determined there was just cause for firing Roca. They took my gun and my badge and kicked me out of the email system, Roca told Masslive.com on Monday. delays new police misconduct database, Dusty Christensen, New England Public Media. 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. He was deployed in 2009-2010 to Iraq where he assisted military police . designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated He said the promoted individual allegedly lost two weapons as an officer. He went on to say that one weapon had allegedly been lost and another had been stolen from the officers home, an incident which Roca claimed was covered up.. sites. Mr. Another was accused of sexual assault while he was off duty. (WWLP) - The Holyoke Fire Department was sent to Hampshire and Maple Streets for a car accident on Friday. Current Police Chief David Pratt suspended Roca in March and then recommended that the mayor terminate Roca. 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. That part of the commissions work has yet to materialize either. Service. 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. They want to send a message to other officers: Dont be like Roca, because this is exactly whats going to happen to you., Febo said in a statement released Tuesday that it is not standard practice for police departments to comment on issues that have an ongoing personnel investigation for violations of policy. Ill probably lose my job, but Im good. Sgts. All rights reserved, FIRST ALERT: Storm Hitting Greater Boston Live Radar, Updates. Officer Leahy made up a substantial portion of his report, the man wrote. Whos policing the police? he asked. AMHERST Amherst Police Chief Scott Livingstone will retire in May after nearly 14 years leading a department he joined upon graduating from AMHERST Unions at the University of Massachusetts are contending that more than 100 state jobs, and their accompanying benefits, are being WALTERBORO, S.C. One of the last pieces of a legal dynasty that doled out justice in rural South Carolina for decades crumbled Friday as lawyer WASHINGTON President Joe Biden exudes confidence as the next race for the White House approaches.During last months State of the Union address Holyoke police officer parks in the train station on Main Street on Wednesday, April 28, 2021. Within the department, he said he had been shamed. Based on the report, Police Chief David Pratt suspended Roca for five days and recommended that the citys mayor terminate him. 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.. 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. Two of the civilian complaints that NEPM obtained alleged that police violently arrested students in the citys schools. Among Roca's more generalized allegations, he called out the department for: a. Some complaints involve allegations that police officers broke the law. The attorney generals office declined to comment on Tuesday. 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. var sellablestring3 = "STAFF FILE PHOTO"; The outstanding efforts of the men and women of the police department have resulted in a reduction in crime over the last two years. 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. This video posted online by Former Holyoke Police Officer Rafael Roca may well have been lost to history and future litigants contending with the police misconduct in Western MA if it had not been rescued by the Internet Archive (which is currently fighting off a vexatious lawsuit filed by a greedy publishing monopolist lobbying group which wants to burn down the Internet's proverbial 'Library . "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. A vehicle was stolen in Granby, Mass., that vehicle was driven by suspects who drove around and broke into parked vehicles in driveways in South Hadley. HOLYOKE Last week, the citys acting mayor fired a police officer who earlier this year posted a viral video on social media alleging corruption and racism within the Holyoke Police Department. The analysis found that 15 officers were paid more than 500 hours of overtime in fiscal year 2020, including four of the departments five highest-paid officers, who earned hourly overtime rates ranging from $94 to $109 an hour. The agency still has not released that data because of the need to clean up and validate the massive data set, according to Zuniga. of 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. For this reason, the Holyoke Police department will have no further comment regarding Mr. Roca or his Case.. if (photocredit.indexOf(sellablestring) > -1 || photocredit.indexOf(sellablestring2) > -1 || photocredit.indexOf(sellablestring3) > -1 || photocredit.indexOf(sellablestring4) > -1) { In his 2016 study in the journalPolice Quarterly, Terrill and fellow researcher Jason Ingram found that in cities that had police conducting internal investigations, but where an external civilian oversight agency reviewed their decisions, the department was "significantly more likely to sustain complaints." var sellablestring = "GAZETTE STAFF"; 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 department. 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. Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. 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. Irving Concepcion filed a complaint against the Holyoke, Massachusetts, police in 2016, saying they pulled him over with their guns drawn, yanked him out of his car and slammed him down on the hood. Febo did not use any names in his statement, but addressed an incident 10 years ago where rifles were lost. var currentLocation = window.location; 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. 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. Roca, however, claimed that somebody stole the gun from Harts house during a party. 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. John Hart was suspended and fined for losing a department-issued sniper rifle. Use our free directory to instantly connect with verified Police Misconduct attorneys. HOLYOKE, Mass One person was killed during a shooting at the Holyoke Mall Saturday night, according to the Hampden County District Attorney's office. In January, Holyoke settled the police brutality suit against the city and officers for $65,000. Holyoke Police Department | Holyoke MA (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 . 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. When presented with NEPMs findings, Maldonado Velez said the lack of discipline resulting from civilian complaints is just not surprising and not unique to Holyoke. NEPM has obtained a decades worth of civilian complaints against HPD officers and the departments own internal investigations of them. Febo said a detectives vehicle was broken into and taken from that vehicle was 2 ballistic vests with 2 magazines in the pouches, along with some K9 gear, and a first aid bag. Some, but not all, of those items were later found in a vehicle stolen from Granby that was recovered in Hartford, according to Febo. (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. Wheres my due process in that?. He went on to say that he felt as though he would either be fired or suspended for posting the 45-minute long video. Carla Sinclair 11:00 am Tue Mar 9, 2021. Febo also issued a statement on the matter, and said while he would not be commenting on the internal personnel matter that is ongoing, he did take the opportunity to address some of the allegations and give facts., Febo said with regard to the allegation that the department covered up stolen and/or lost rifles, the incident in question took place 10 years ago and was fully investigated by [the] previous chief, discipline meted out, and every step was reported publicly at that time., Additionally Febo referenced the claim regarding a detective that had his vehicle and weapon stolen, which was covered up. Cannabis company Trulieve will pay $14,502 after reaching a settlement with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration over the death of an employee who worked at Trulieve's Holyoke cultivation site. 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. 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. This story has been updated to include a statement from Chief Manny Febo which he sent to the Gazette midday on Tuesday. Reyes the internal affairs officer found the officers actions justified and proper, and consistent with standard protocols for crash-scene response and safety. Roca said he had performed consistently in his role as a police officer and engaged in crime fighting when others were allegedly sleeping in their police cruisers and ignoring crime. He went on to say there had been officers he knew of that were allegedly involved in drunk driving incidents, who had assaulted people with their boats who have been labeled as racist and officers who had stolen money. He went on to say there were police officers who allegedly have made an excess of $260,000 a year and no one had questioned the situation. In fact, a year later, Valentin filed a civilian complaint against an HPD officer over his rudeness to her at the scene of a car crash involving her wife treatment Valentin alleged was related to her political stances. var tag_id = document.getElementById('buylinkHolyokePD-hg031021,ph1'); 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. will soon post complaints against police officers online. That decision was made after aHolyoke police officer publicly alleged corruptionwithin the HPD and aDaily Hampshire Gazetteinvestigation found whatsome characterized as excessive overtimein the department, including among some of its highest-paid officers. 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. 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. 'Officer shuffle': Some ousted cops find jobs at new departments in Mass. In 1894 the New York State Senate launched the first comprehensive investigation of corruption in the NYPD. Daily Hampshire Gazette. MASSACHUSETTS-In early March, two police sergeants were suspended without pay for speaking with a reporter about mismanagement, corruption and racism within the Holyoke Police Department, and for providing him with internal documents. He noted that he was terminated in the final days of Murphys tenure as acting mayor. One officer was accused of using his siren at a drive-thru window to get his ice cream more quickly. Roca said he hopes the Massachusetts government will audit the department. 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. And often, legal protections and collective bargaining agreements with police unions prevent those boards from interviewing officers, he added. Neiswanger said that a tipster found the gun in an alley, and that the mayors presence was a coincidence. Amid Pandemic, Boston Loses Title as Country's Worst City for Traffic, Biden Hopes to Boost Offshore Wind as Mass. 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. It goes back as long as anyone can remember, he said in the video.