I just witnessed a 300-person Zoom call between about 14 city councilors and supporters of defunding the Newton police. The call was organized and run by people who’ve graduated from the Newton schools in the past several years. Speakers of color talked about their fears of Newton police and racism in the schools.
You should absolutely watch this if you want to understand what is meant by, “Defund the Police.” I am not even coming close to relaying the points made during the call.
A couple of teasers from people of color::
A 2019 graduate of Newton North: “I think that Newton has a serious problem and a serious disconnect between the values of inclusion, diversity, equity that it espouses and the actions it takes.”
and
“We have a chance to live up to the values we espouse…to defund the police and allocate those funds towards resources that would get to the root cause of the problems.”
Another 2019 North graduate:: “You can not condemn the actions of the police in Minneapolis and think yourselves separate from them here as you continue to increase the police budget and refuse to make viable investments in our community. Hiring five more officers is not what will make me feel safe.”
Here’s what they’re asking for:
- No new police cruisers
- No new hires and no recruitment. We oppose the hiring of five new patrol officers proposed for $272,740)
- Defund the Newton Police Department by at least 10% in the FY21 budget and develop a plan for reallocating resources towards community solutions
- Transfer mental health, addiction, and social services jobs to health and human services and education departments
- Require community review of police union negotiations
I’m so glad this discussion has engaged the city’s future voters.
During the City Council meeting that had been Zoom-bombed I noticed a lot of names that I knew from the high schools. Many are either eligible to vote now or will be within the next year or two, so they could be a force for the next city council election.
There were a lot of 20-somethings on the call.
@Gail: Were they all verified as Newton residents?
If it gets past the adults in the room, put any and all of this to a vote. I don’t want anybody speaking for me in such an important debate.
Gail, thank you for updating on this. I had been quiet in writing to my councilors on this topic as I was waiting to see what the Black members of our community were asking. I am 100% in for reallocation but was not sure if that was going to be the ask, or to what extent. This is super helpful and specific enough of an ask for me to be pointed in my comments.
@Newtoner: I don’t know if they provided information on where they live but I wouldn’t have it if they did. I recognized a lot of last names as the children of Newton residents (including activists and former elected officials).
@Newtoner: Also, I’m wondering why you want to know. I can’t imagine why they’d be on the call if they weren’t affected by decisions in Newton. There are many larger venues having similar discussions.
I want to know because it indicates the level of involvement of our young population in city decisions, which is typically extremely low. It’s not the same if the participants were recruited from a national pool. I can certainly imagine activists participating in different local meetings nationwide that are shared on social media. However, I don’t want to make any uneducated guesses about this meeting.
@Newtoner I’m one of the organizers. We are entirely Newton residents with a small population of people who recently moved out of Newton. This was entirely locally run. No national or even statewide organizers/organizations were involved in any way, just local residents fighting for our city.
It’s great that the Councilors provided this group of young people with an opportunity to present what they believe to be a budget plan. Now its time for the city to explain to them that Police Departments are built over time and that the budget isn’t as simple as lopping off funds. The attendees to this Zoom call all had the opportunity to grow up and be educated in one of the safest cities of its size in America. There are reasons for this and they should be careful about what they wish for. PD’s such as Newtons are not dealing in the same world as large Metro PD’s and this people need to understand. The below two items were previously posted on V14 on other headings.
@all: Bryan is correct in the Swiss Army Knife analogy, but in all of this it still comes down to one thing for public safety, response time. The staffing level of the Police Department was designed to meet the national standards for response time once called. The multitude of duties assigned to the police over the years doesn’t really change their current response time as the event determines the level of urgency as assigned through dispatch. The city, the colleges, and some businesses have added the “blue” light safety system designed to protect walkers that may have an urgent need for the police. When you’re in fear and trigger that system your hope is the police arrive “now,” as time is of the essence. Should the residents of Newton make the decision to accept a longer response time then we can reduce staffing levels. This is a serious discussion as you will jeopardize safety. The Newton police are progressive, well trained, and take their interactions with the public very seriously. No person nor group is perfect, but they work hard at accountability and safety.
@all to answer a few questions I just received off line: Staffing on days and weekends. There are no peaceful times of day any longer in public safety. Your police, fire, and EMT’s have to be prepared to respond to serious events such as active shooters during the weekdays with several colleges, public schools, and private schools, and on weekends at places of worship. Plans call for large numbers of trained responders on a moment’s notice.
Social Work: The Newton Police have an on staff Social Worker that has trained for police/civilian encounters and rides with the Police in situations that warrant this need.
I think the only way we are going to make improvements in Newton Police, Newton public safety, and Newton’s service to the community is through mutual understanding. The way you make improvements in any institution, any department, any organization is to understand it and understand how it fits with the larger community.
I feel any changes made at the police or city level needs that understanding to be effective. This list of demands doesn’t seem like it has benefited from that understanding. Doesn’t it seem relevant to ask why, specifically, the police want more recruits? How often *do* you need to replace a police cruiser? How do we set force levels, and how do they compare to other communities? Why a 10% cut, not 5% or 15%?
More importantly, how do these demands impact specific issues Newton faces? How do they help the force become more diverse? How do they improve community policing and reduce any fear that particular residents may have about the police? Do budget cuts improve training or accountability? Do they help make our neighborhoods safer for biking and walking through focused traffic enforcement, something many people have asked the NPD to do more of over the years?
What specifically are we trying to solve, and what’s the most effective way to solve it?
What “mental health, addiction, and social services jobs” do the Newton Police perform today, and what specific problems and successes have they had? It’s a good idea to think about the which city department can best handle chronic social problems, but that should be done deliberately and carefully so that people at risk don’t fall through the cracks.
Let me give you an example. The winter before last, I noticed that a kind but reclusive older neighbor of mine wasn’t at her window where she always sat. After I couldn’t reach her, I called the Newton Police and explained her complicated situation to them, including her hoarding. They knew of her because of past public safety issues surrounding her house, and her refusal to take help. The officer and civilian department members that responded where the kindest, most thoughtful, most professional people I could imagine. They found out my friend had passed away in her sleep. They handled the case with dignity. They checked up on me to make sure I was doing OK.
I don’t know if a police department is best suited for this task or not (though I’m sure when someone dies, they’d be involved). All I know is, in this very specific circumstance, Newton has the right people now. I don’t want haste to mess up things, even little things, that work. Maybe this situation seems almost inconsequential, but it wasn’t to me. The police end up being the last resort for lots of things we say we care about, but not enough to actually solve.
We find the good and potential in everyone when we treat them as individuals and take the time to understand their individual strengths and weaknesses. If the last weeks have taught us anything, it’s the tremendous danger and waste of stereotyping. The same is true in this discussion. Police officers are not all the same. Police departments are not all the same. We can learn from other places, but there’s no cookie-cutter solution to making public safety and welfare better. We have to be deliberate.
If we want to make a positive difference in our community, we have to do the hard work and figure out what works today and what could work better. We need to set high standards and relentlessly drive to improve through questions, discussion, and accountability, making changes when they need to be made. Police are part of that. I thank Newton Police officers for the unsung, dangerous, tedious stuff they do every day. I want them to be a shining reflection of our community, a part of our community, like I want for every employee of our city. I want them to come home safe every day, just like I do for every other person. So if something goes wrong, I want a culture of accountability. I want change so that it doesn’t happen again. That keeps everyone safe.
I believe transparency and accountability are the two things we need most from our police department now. We have to fight against closed cultures or a bunker mentality. Transparency allows City Council and the Mayor to ask hard but informed questions and to make necessary choices with limited city resources. Accountability affirms that civilians are in charge, that the police reflect our high community standards, and that problems are fixed or avoided completely.
It is then our responsibility to assert that control, all the while listening to every voice in our community as we go.
Great comment, Mike Halle. I agree that we need transparency In and accountability for the police department – a group that makes sure there is no blue line citizens and local government cannot pass. Also need an outside organization to do an independent evaluation of how the force operates.
Arbitrary reductions don’t make sense. It appears the new cruisers are to replace old worn-out ones. If so, the accountability committee, if appointed, would be the ones to make sure that there is no escalation in militarized vehicles.
The new recruits could be one way to start various new training objectives, including ones in how to avoid violence, sensitivity training for dealing with the mentally ill and certainly training against bias, profiling and stereotypes.
I stand with the police. Defunding is ridiculous. These 20 somethings don’t even pay property taxes yet they want to defund the police. Come on wake up.
@Fred Z Knowles – You may disagree with their position on this issue but those “20 somethings” are called citizens and they have exactly as much right to shape public policy as you or any other citizen.
Owning property does not entitle anyone to additional rights. Those days are long gone.
@Fred Z Knowles: By that logic, the opinions of anyone who doesn’t own property are irrelevant. We should be listening to 20-somethings, not rejecting their opinions because they can’t afford or choose not to own property.
The sponsors of this meeting suggested several budget changes and I am wondering what effects those changes would have both intended and unintended. These suggestions should be taken seriously and we need to figure out what the practical effects will be. Here are the questions I would love answers to:
1) If there are fewer officers on patrol what is the effect on response times, what are the likely consequences of any change in response time and are those consequences acceptable?
2) Will the changes mean that the police or other departments have the ability to respond to incidents of various sizes and types and is any change in that capability desired or acceptable?
3) What effect will the changes have on the ability to do traffic enforcement and is that change desired or acceptable?
4) What effect will the changes have on the ability to provide details (police or otherwise) for road work and other situations or events?
5) Can other departments or organizations staff up in time to take on additional responsibilities when they are moved away from the police?
6) Are there state laws that require police officers to do certain types of activities and will the proposed changes impact the ability of those activities to occur and is that a desired or acceptable outcome?
7) If all community outreach functions are removed from the police force will that cause the police to be less compassionate, will it change the relationship between police and children who learn that police can be a source of protection through the outreach such that it might cause children to not reach out to police in instances where they need immediate safety from violence?
8) What are the effects of not replacing police vehicles this year?
I hope that the organizers of the meeting or other members of the community can answer these questions so that I can understand the impacts of the proposal.
To the commenter who just posted on this thread with an invalid email address, please read our rules and resubmit.
I am concerned at the lack of consideration being given by some on this thread to the serious and thoughtful proposals to defund the police in Newton. Many of those questioning those proposals appear to be missing a lot of information about what defunding the police means.
It would indicate respect for the citizens making these proposals if those questioning them get better informed, rather than asking a long list of questions that indicate ignorance and that turn the conversation away from solutions. These proposals are made in the context of a current national dialogue about defunding the police. The answers to many of the questions raised are already out there, and proposals made here in Newton shouldn’t have to start at ground zero.
I suggest that those seeking information about what defunding the police means–and it distinctly does NOT mean zero police–begin with these sources:
John Oliver’s 30-min June 7 broadcast about policing in America: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wf4cea5oObY
If foul language (which Oliver routinely uses) offends you, then you might start with articles in The Nation (thenation.com), beginning with this one:
https://www.thenation.com/article/activism/defund-police-protest/
I also strongly recommend Trevor Noah’s thoughtful (rather Rousseau-ean) discussion about how black Americans have always been excluded from the social contract that police departments are supposed to enforce:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4amCfVbA_c
I welcome hearing others’ suggestions on how to get better informed and how to move Newton on the path to equality. By moving our local city on this path, we contribute to moving the entire country on the path to equality. If not here, where? If not now, when?
While it makes perfect sense to regularly review the police department budget and also hold all government branches and offices accountable, the decision on the budget should not be a knee jerk reaction or a highly emotionally or politically charged ＂defund，“ and most certainly should not be made to shame and demoralize the police officers.
Instead, the decision on how much to spend on our policing should be considered based on rational analysis on established factors such as: First, what is driving up police expenditures? Are police departments growing and providing more services to more people, are the costs of providing these same services simply going up, or are other factors responsible for the increase? Second, what has the city and its residents received in return for their investment in policing? Are there fewer crimes, a greater sense of safety and more satisfaction with police services? What has happened to the bottom line in policing? How have communities benefited from the new spending? And how is our city compared to other cities such as Brookline in these aspects?
Here is a 2018 crime stat for newton.. good comparison chart too
https://patch.com/massachusetts/newton/fbi-crime-stats-where-newton-stands
Is crime low because we have excellent policing or simply because its a sleepy suburb?
I can imagine Newton is often a target for burglarly… now, do I need an armed officer to respond if someone has entered the home? Depends if they have a gun/knife which i would not know
@Bugek-
The law treats B&E in the nighttime qualitatively differently than B&E during the daytime. People can reasonably be expected to be at home at night; someone who breaks into your home at night is considered a more dangerous offender since presumably they are prepared to do harm to the occupants in the course of the burglary. By extension, one may reasonably conclude that the nighttime B&E person is both armed and dangerous. “Armed” doesn’t necessarily mean with a gun … there are plenty of weapons that are lethal, quiet and don’t require bullets.
Lisap,
Parents worst nightmare = someone breaking in while at home
Dont know how rare this is in Newton (or general).
@Bugek-
A nighttime break in is highly traumatic. No getting around that – true nightmare. I was skimming an over 800 page report for 2020 by Newton PD regarding their responses to date. They provide an annotated reason for some calls but many are indecipherable. A number of calls are due to burglar alarms – commercial and residential. There is a website that tracks crime on a map that I looked at quickly. It didn’t take long to find quite a few markers for aggravated assault. All individuals are presumed innocent of course.
It would be useful if the NPS provided more detail on the police logs for the call reasons. They seem to do an excellent job of tracking the number and location of MVA’s, bike collisions and pedestrian collisions with a detailed breakdown of the causation (driver inattentive, DUI). Unless necessary to redact due to investigation, that would be good data to have.
@Newton Upper Falls Resident: I will admit that I had never heard of the “defund” the police movement until late last week. I am trying to learn what I can about this issue. I expect that I agree with the underlyng goals of removing unnecessary functions from the police and give them to organizations that are better equipped to handle those functions if they are necessary and to provide more resource that prevent the conditions that cause crime and therefore reduce the police-public interaction that causes fear and harm to many people.
I listened to the full meeting with the City Council and all of the resources that you provided. What I have not seen is a clear statement of what functions the police should retain since you say it does not mean zero police and how many resources the police will require to carry out those functions in either the general context or Newton. What responsibilities that the police should no longer do get picked up and by whom and in the Newton context are those organizations capable of picking the responsibilities up in a timely way. I have also not seen any discussion of what the potential unintended consequences of these changes are and how do we avoid them.
It is not disrespectful to ask questions to attempt to learn about the issue. I am sorry that after a week of considering this issue I am not an expert on the issue who knows the answers to all of the questions in both a general and Newton specific context. I am sorry if you felt that I was trying to ask bait and switch questions. That was not my intention. I am trying to engage on the proposed solution of reducing the police budget including by not buying new vehicles to replace existing vehicles, reducing the budget for patrol officers, transferring mental health , addiction, community and youth services, and social service job/funds and figure out what that means beyond a number on a sheet of paper and if it is actually doable and a good idea.
Do we need to just take it at face value that the proposal is perfect and that there will be no consequences from it? Or are we allowed to engage in critical thinking and ask questions?
Lisap: “They seem to do an excellent job of tracking the number and location of MVA’s, bike collisions and pedestrian collisions with a detailed breakdown of the causation (driver inattentive, DUI).”
Actually, Newton would benefit from much more detailed crash and citation analysis than currently exists. This has been an ongoing goal of citizens and the city for a number of years. The police have made some inroads, but our engineering and complete streets efforts need richer data. Better reports go to the state, but there’s a two year delay in those becoming public.
I hope this is something we can redouble our efforts to solve.
@Mike Halle-
Thanks for the insight, and I am fully in favor of detailed, published crash and citation data. Last year I did work gathering crash data from, I believe it was the DOT now DPU (not Newton data). If I recollect correctly, the data was compiled from information submitted to the RMV. Unfortunately, not all crash data was included since many operators fail to submit an operator’s report, and the local PD I was analyzing was spotty in their reporting.
I will add that when the State Police CARS (Collision and Reconstruction Section) gets involved, there can be a lengthy delay in the release of that report as that frequently means criminal charges are or will be brought. Almost always a terrible scene when they are called.
@Mike Halle-
Just another thought and question: Has there been a push for better collision analysis by the Newton PD? If the goal is to have someone on the force who can conduct a reconstruction, that I think would be possible either by hiring a trained ACTAR certified reconstructionist or by having an officer attend the training and pass the ACTAR exams. Police training includes only very rudimentary collision reconstruction.
Lisap, thanks for this uniquely useful information. Great contacts and ideas are one of the joys of living here. Councilors Downs and Bowman (among others) have been involved in this issue for years. Can you pass the information on to them?
@Mike Halle-
I shall, happily!
The more I think about the words “defund the police,” the more I know it could be the end of all of the hard work people have been doing.
Repeat after me…’reform the police,’ ‘demilitarize the police,’ ‘refocus the goals of policing,’ ‘restructure the police’, ‘rebuild law enforcement from the ground up’, ‘transform policing’, ‘emphasize training in deescalation and community policing’, ‘raise standards, testing, and requirements for law enforcement officers’, ‘bolster mental health services and aid for the homeless on our streets’, ‘narrow the focus of policing’, ANYTHING but ‘defund police’. WTF were they thinking by calling it that?
@Nathaniel Lichtin
Thank you for helping me to better understand what your concerns are.
I think that there is agreement that multiple reforms need to go together: adding community and mental health services at the same time as reducing police officers with guns.
Scott Thomson, the former police chief of Camden, NJ, which completely revamped its police department in the wake of being defunded by the state, speaks here:
https://www.npr.org/sections/live-updates-protests-for-racial-justice/2020/06/08/872416644/former-chief-of-reformed-camden-n-j-force-police-need-consent-of-the-people
Thomson says, “I would have traded 10 cops for another Boys & Girls Club, but the system needs to change as far as having police respond to incidents such as mental illness.” In that interview, he also talks about the need for the people’s consent to policing and thus the need to build trust.
It’s certainly worth researching what worked well and what did not in Camden, in considering how to rethink public safety in Newton.
With regard to Newton specifically, it would certainly be valuable to be able to call trained mental-health professionals instead of the police when facing a person with a mental breakdown (most of which involve greater danger to the person him- or herself than to others). Certainly in Newton, and indeed in much of the Boston metro area, it’s very difficult to get mental health care if you cannot pay out of pocket (many local psychiatrists and psychologists won’t take ANY insurance at all). So public mental health support services are desperately needed.
A good question to ask is whether existing mental-health organizations can be adapted to such community-wide services or whether something else is needed. The city council can and should start this consideration process.
Another good place to start is with reallocating funds in the Newton city budget from police to parks and libraries and schools. Newton Public Schools is “not renewing the contracts” of twice as many special education support staff this year as in past years because of their budgetary “uncertainty.” I for one would rather see the police driving older cruisers so our most vulnerable students don’t lose staffing at a time when they need more, not less, support.
Thanks for engaging in conversation.
@Marti-
I could not agree more. The only thing worse would be “abolish the police” -though I’m not sure this is all that different.
@Newton Upper Falls Resident
What do you mean by calling “ trained mental-health professionals instead of the police when facing a person with a mental breakdown?” Are we going to send social workers and therapists to respond to 911 calls? Would these mental health professionals dare to come to the situation facing potential bodily harm? Mental health assessment and care are often ordered by the court AFTER the emergency has been handled by the police.
And what’s the rationale behind “ s reducing police officers with guns?” Is that a cost reduction measure as the guns are too expensive to maintain? Or has there been incidents that Newton Police misuse guns?
I agree that the cruisers may not need to be replaced just yet and the need for any new hires should be examined.
Where can I get a “I stand with NPD sign” for my yard ? Gladly buy one.
Fred,
You’re a brave man. I fully support Newton PD… but I’m actually scared to show public signs of support at this time
Maybe in several months, I think now is the time to show solidarity with those who want to end police brutality(it does exist, but I don’t know to what extent… maybe its so rare in Newton that its a non issue locally)
I would think that in today’s environment of skepticism and distrust, supporters of the police would also want as much transparency as possible. It only benefits the police to talk openly about any policies, procedures, training, and other mechanisms designed to help prevent the kinds of abuse of power seen elsewhere.
As citizens, we should have easy access to complaints and accusations leveled at the police, as well as how the situation or accusations were resolved. When things do go wrong, how do we learn from them and correct for them?
Transparency provides more information for everyone to more accurately understand how the police function in Newton. That’s true no matter what your politics or predispositions are.
@LeiZhao it happens that today’s Boston Globe offers an example of a program that sends out mental health workers instead of armed police. The program, in Eugene, Oregon “dispatches crisis workers rather than police officers to 911 calls with a strong behavioral health component. The program tackles roughly 20 percent of calls in the small city. The crisis workers don’t carry handcuffs or a weapon. Last year, out of a total of about 24,000 calls, they called for police backup just 150 times”.
NPR also did a story on the concept.
@Mike Halle,
Statistical information about complaints against officers should be easy enough for the PD to provide. Getting specific information (IAB type investigations) about specific officers is extremely difficult to impossible to get without a court order as personnel files are generally exempt from disclosure under State FOIA laws and regs. Similarly, information about Police practices which would disclose investigative methods may likewise be shielded from public scrutiny if disclosure would undermine their ability to function.
Putting aside that issue, there’s no reason I’m aware of why the PD couldn’t or shouldn’t be able to provide a lot of data about the number and types of calls they respond to annually beyond bare bones crime statistics they provide to the FBI.
Another thought; decriminalization – which must come from the legislature – is one way to reduce the burden on police. If loitering for example is not a crime, there is no need for the police to enforce that law. One way of looking at this is that we, through our criminal laws, give law enforcement their jurisdiction over behaviors we want then to police. In that vein, I do think it is silly to call upon law enforcement for loud leaf blowers, side walks that aren’t shoveled and barking dogs a/k/a the nuisances we must tolerate to live in society.
Lisap says, with many other good points, “In that vein, I do think it is silly to call upon law enforcement for loud leaf blowers, side walks that aren’t shoveled…”
We should always be discussing who in the city is most effective in enforcing municipal code or proposed changes do it. The police tend to be a catch-all default for enforcement, so they should be a part of the conversation. But when the conversation is done, and these factors are considered, the police and other departments should perform their duty. If the law is difficult to enforce, or there’s a better way, then the police can communicate that.
You mention sidewalk snow removal. Sidewalk snow removal is complicated: it’s city property that we require the public to clear. Those are the cards we are dealt. Hopwever, sidewalks are part of our transportation system, a cornerstone of our neighborhood schools philosophy and complete streets policy. An uncleared sidewalk can force people, including kids, onto icy streets at when it is dangerous. The City also has legal requirements under ADA.
The City Council agreed that clearing sidewalks was important enough to impose fines for failure to comply. There was discussion with the public and city departments, including the police. It is a very valid question to ask which department should best enforce this ordinance (police, DPW, inspectional services, etc). For comparison if someone blocked traffic on the road in front of their house, it probably wouldn’t be unreasonable to call the police, but maybe it would get routed to DPW.
So reasonable people could differ on who should best enforce. However, I believe it was not appropriate for the Chief of Police to say in a public meeting discussing the proposed ordinance, with City Councilors present, that the NPD would not enforce such a law because it would be used by (quote) “agitators” to retaliate against their neighbors. That might or might not be a valid concern, or an accurate opinion, but the tail doesn’t wag the dog. The civil government considers the issues, makes the laws, expects them to be enforced, and amends them if needed. Furthermore, publicly casting those who want winter sidewalks safe as agitators is simply not a constructive way to contribute to a public dialog or to build public trust. The community grants the police their power. (Ultimately, the ordinance was written to allow DPW to enforce.)
It simply must be clear to everyone that Newton’s government is ultimately in charge. Even little things matter. A few years ago when the police announced that parking meter enforcement would be suspended for the holidays. We can debate the relative benefits of that policy elsewhere; it certainly is popular. However, I thought it was strange that the message came from the police, not the Mayor, or at least a joint statement. The City sets policy, police enforce it. The police follow policy and advise on it. Yes, this example is a minor thing, bordering on trivial. But consistency matters. Symbolism matters. Details matter. Big or small.
The debate about the role of police in society isn’t just about the police failures, shortcomings, or abuses. It’s about responsible city government making appropriate choices. The relationship doesn’t have to be adversarial. The police can be partners in transferring responsibilities that have fallen on them but that are better done in a different way. Figuring how best to meet the needs of the community is the job of the Mayor and City Council. They are accountable to the public through elections.
These are the discussions we should have now, all things we can do now, things we should have done all along. Just because we don’t see obvious problems doesn’t mean we can allow things to run on autopilot. We all have different views to bring to this conversation, and we need it to be inclusive as possible so that even the traditionally voiceless are heard.
Mike Halle brings up several important points. In all the talk about reforming the police, the fact that the city sets the policy and the police, or some other entity, enforces it has been left out. It was entirely inappropriate for the police Chief to say what he did to the city council.
I agree that we can have these discussions now – with the mayor and city council – as a community to decide what we need our police force to be. Including everyone and with transparency.
@ Marti said. All of those words are much more focused on the intent of what people want to see happen.
Just in case people think this level of transformation can’t be done, it happened in public education in 1993 with the Ed Reform Act. While it isn’t perfect by a long stretch, it transformed public education in MA. In a similar but different way, this can be a transformative moment in public safety.
There were some extremely well thought out rational arguments, James Cote, Mike Halle, etc. I read them both and found them to both be spot on!! The Newton PD happens to be one of the first Nationally Accredited departments in the country and the first in Massachusetts! They have command staff and officers on staff that provide training and guidance to countless police departments across the state! The very last thing they need is a citizen led “Blue Ribbon Commission” to pore over their practices! Or worse, wannabe citizen commissioners like Marti Bowen, coaching them on how to “properly” deal with volatile domestic situation!!
How anyone could read these arguments and not immediately realize that people like Ms. Bowen are the problem here, is completely beyond me!! Lord help us all if this is our future!!