Boston Police Reform Panel Defends Mayor-Dominated Appointment Structure

Vigil Held In Boston Supporting Black Lives Matter — A Boston Police Officer stands beside a protest on June 04, 2020 in Boston, Massachusetts. The protests were in response to the death of George Floyd, an African American, while in the custody of the Minneapolis, Minnesota police, Protests calling for an end to police brutality have spread across cities in the U.S., and in other parts of the world.

Saraya Wintersmith covers Boston City Hall for GBH News. Before that, she covered the Dorchester, Roxbury and Mattapan neighborhoods, focusing on how people live and the issues that shaped those communities. Prior to joining GBH News, Saraya worked as a statehouse reporter, producing radio and television stories for WCVE, now VPM, in Richmond, Va. Saraya lives in Dorchester and holds a journalism degree from Howard University.

September 29, 2020

Updated September 29, 2020

Members of Boston’s Police Reform Task Force on Tuesday defended their recommendation that the mayor hold appointment power over virtually all aspects of the proposed police oversight office.

The task force, assembled by Mayor Marty Walsh in June, was charged to examine Boston Police operations the wake of the national and local outcry over the killing of unarmed Black men and women.

Walsh, on the day he announced the reform panel, vowed to accept any changes the group recommended to the city’s existing civilian oversight body, called the Community Ombudsmen Oversight Panel, or Co-Op.

The reform task force released its list of recommendations that includes scrapping the current Co-Op structure and creating a multi-pronged, independent Office of Police Accountability and Transparency (OPAT) in its place.

During a media briefing Tuesday, reform panel members maintained that the recommendation was a sound one.

“It remains under the purview of the mayor, I think, because the mayor is elected,” said Allison Cartwright, a task force member and attorney in charge of the Roxbury Defenders Office.

“I believe that if the public does not have confidence in (the Office of Police Accountability and Transparency)’s independence, the mayor’s office will hear about it and the mayor would remain dedicated to ensuring the independence of OPAT,” she said.

The task force recommended a centralized review board appointed by the mayor. That contrasts with a free-standing civilian review board ordinance currently before Boston City Council.

The measure, filed in July by Councilors Andrea Campbell, Julia Mejia and Ricardo Arroyo, would establish an 11-member civilian review board independent of the Boston Police Department.

Its members, however, would be split between appointments made by the mayor and the Council, 5 to 6. The members would also serve staggered terms.

Tanisha Sullivan, a reform task force member and president of the NAACP Boston Branch, said the proposed structure of the OPAT office appointments would be “no different” than any other office within the city.

“The mayor is the only individual who has the authority to make such an appointment,” Sullivan said, adding that the panel recommended two slots for the Boston City Council to put forward names for the mayor’s consideration.

“Of course, the final decision does rest with the mayor,” she said.

The task force also recommended that the mayor choose his appointees from a pool of nominations offered up by “civil rights advocacy groups, youth organizations, neighborhood associations and police associations.”

Panel members disclosed that they had not consulted with the police union, the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association, while formulating their recommendations.

“We did not meet with representatives of the Boston [Police] Patrolmen’s Association, or the like, but we did have the benefit of some of their input through our public listening sessions,” said task force chairman Wayne Budd, pointing to verbal and written public comments from members.

The union, along with other law enforcement organizations, have publicly resisted state-level efforts to cut back protections that shield officers against lawsuits.

BPPA President Larry Calderone did not respond to GBH News requests for comment.

Both of the task force’s law enforcement members — Superintendent Dennis White, chief of staff for the Boston Police Department, and MAMLEO President Sergeant Eddy Chrispin — spoke in favor of the recommendation-making process and indicated they both have received positive comments from fellow officers.

“Overall, I believe that most of the officers believe that change was coming, and I have positive views from members,” said White. “There are going to be some that are going to resist change, but that is the process we went through.”

“My comments to members of the police department I’ve spoken to have been that change is inevitable,” Chrispin added. “I’m sure there are those who disagree with some of the task force recommendations, but again, I think with time, people will acquiesce and conform with some of [them].”

Former state legislator and task force member Marie St. Fleur added that the union "has a seat at the table every time a contact is negotiated."

“I do think that with the representation of Superintendent White and Sergeant Eddy Chrispin, as well as the officers who elected, as members of the public, to show up at the public hearings, they had a full forum to participate and share their views and I know that their views were taken into consideration during this process,” St. Fleur said.

Task force members did not reveal a target date for submitting their final recommendations to the mayor.