After some Worcester city councilors on Tuesday criticized the police department for repeatedly disputing aspects of a damning federal probe into officer misconduct, Worcester Police Chief Paul Saucier clarified that he agrees with many of the findings.
Earlier in April, Worcester police issued a nearly 4,000-word press release accusing the U.S. Department of Justice of making numerous “mistakes and mischaracterizations” in its inquiry. It was the latest instance of the police department slamming the DOJ’s final report on the investigation released in December.
At a council meeting Tuesday, multiple residents and city councilors said they were perplexed by Worcester police leaders’ arguments against the federal findings.
“I find the overall reaction to the report to be disappointing,” Worcester NAACP President Fred Taylor said during the public comment portion of the meeting. “It’s important to recognize that not everything in the report can be dismissed as incorrect.”
Councilor Etel Haxhiaj added that police officials and city leaders have cast the DOJ investigators as “high school amateurs targeting the Worcester Police Department.”
“I think that needs to stop. It does not make us look good,” she said.
The federal investigation determined that officers violate people’s constitutional rights by escalating minor incidents with unnecessary force, including deploying tasers, using police dogs to bite people, and striking subjects in the head. The DOJ also found officers engage in “outrageous” sexual behavior during undercover operations, and that police enforcement disproportionately targets Black and Latino people.
Saucier was at the meeting Tuesday to formally present to City Council the April 16 press release pushing back against the investigation. The police department argued in the release that federal investigators failed to accurately describe officers’ efforts to de-escalate incidents before using force. It also disputed the finding that officers have sex with prostitutes while working undercover, suggesting those incidents instead may have involved residents impersonating police officers to avoid paying for sex.
City Manager Eric Batista, who oversees Worcester police, told councilors that the department is still working on a larger public response to the DOJ report. He said there are many other aspects of the investigation that are accurate.
“Unfortunately, the message continues to be that the city of Worcester is completely against this report,” Batista said. “I want to completely, right now, say that that is not true.”
Saucier said he agreed with investigators’ claims that video surveillance footage confirms several cases of excessive use of force. He added that police dogs are indeed dangerous if not trained properly, and that police supervisors need to hold officers more accountable.
The chief went on to reiterate past comments that he’s moving to fulfill many of the investigators’ recommendations. He’s also pursuing certification for the department through the Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission, a strict process that he said will ensure Worcester police practices meet the highest of standards.
“We take this very seriously,” Saucier said. “We understand that we are human beings. We’re not robots. We make mistakes.”
City Councilor Khrystian King said he appreciated the chief’s comments, calling them “a big step forward.” Still, he asked for the police department to put together a comprehensive list of reforms it’s making in response to the DOJ findings.
Haxhiaj filed a separate motion requesting that, for the sake of transparency, the city manager release public records detailing lawsuits Worcester has settled over alleged police misconduct.
The flare-up over the police department’s press release was the second time councilors have pushed back against the city’s response to the DOJ findings.
When the DOJ published its report in December, a lawyer representing Worcester immediately released a statement blasting the findings as biased and unfair. Batista, who approved the response, later said it was “harsh” and publicly apologized.
Worcester’s police unions have continued to call the DOJ report inaccurate, saying they refuse to allow police officers to be smeared.
