In other words, having the power to question the suspect, having the power to question the officer.. Murphy said in a phone interview Monday that he felt no pressure from anyone to terminate Roca before he left office. That decision was made after a Holyoke police officer publicly alleged corruption within the HPD and a Daily Hampshire Gazette investigation found what some characterized as "excessive. Later that evening, however, Roca and another officer saw the fire department lieutenant drive by in his car again at high speed. The HPDs log of complaints and internal investigations contains no evidence the department ever opened an internal investigation into the incident. It was not there to help me.. On December 24, 2015 and January 25, 2016, HRD, at the request of the City, sent Read the rules you agree to by using this website in our Terms In 2018, a man alleged that school resource officer Melvis Romero abused his authority when he threw the mans son to the ground during the school day and arrested him, injuring his neck and shoulders in the process. Published: 11/16/2021 9:42:49 PM HOLYOKE Last week, the city's acting mayor fired a police officer who earlier this year posted a viral video on social media alleging corruption and. Internal affairs is corrupt as can be, Roca said in his video. HOLYOKE, Mass. He said that is because he is a proactive police officer who tries to engage in crime fighting., I was a very proactive officer, I would do my job, I tried to do traffic stops, he told the Gazette. Among Roca's more generalized allegations, he called out the department for: a. tag_id.innerHTML = ' Buy this Image'; (They) never investigated any of my allegations to see if I was lying, he said. Growing up Puerto Rican in the Flats neighborhood of Holyoke one of the citys majority-Hispanic lower wards Maldonado Velez said he heard plenty of stories from those whom that system harmed. Last August, Holyoke Mayor Joshua Garcia hired the New. Holyoke police officer Rafael Roca alleges there iscorruption and racism in the Holyoke Police Department. Others, he added, have managed to escape from serious instances of misconduct without any disciplinary action. 234 were here. if (photocredit.indexOf(sellablestring) > -1 || photocredit.indexOf(sellablestring2) > -1 || photocredit.indexOf(sellablestring3) > -1 || photocredit.indexOf(sellablestring4) > -1) { One officer was accused of using his siren at a drive-thru window to get his ice cream more quickly. 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. When Romero put his hand on the boys shoulder and told him to go back to his classroom, Reyes said the boy smacked the officer's hand and swore at him. Murphy said that Roca had been on paid leave for eight months, and that the city needed to resolve that matter. Holyoke officer who alleged corruption, OT abuse is fired Amid Pandemic, Boston Loses Title as Country's Worst City for Traffic, Biden Hopes to Boost Offshore Wind as Mass. We were unable to subscribe you to WBUR Today. Leon Davis, Springfield Police Department. All rights reserved (About Us). Holyoke Police Department | Holyoke MA Rafael Roca, 37,. Holyoke Police Department | Holyoke MA - Facebook Audit finds Holyoke Police Department poses 'substantial risk' to city None of them provided comment on the civilian complaints they faced or the departments investigation of them, and the heads of both the patrol officers union and supervisors union did not respond to questions from NEPM. The suspected shooter is in custody. He also mentioned that he was fired right before Joshua Garcia was sworn in as Holyokes mayor on Monday. I think the common response is, Why bother? she said. var currentLocation = window.location; Out of the 92 times an officer was named in a civilian complaint, HPDs top brass only sustained, or upheld, allegations against an officer three times: a dispatcher who received a verbal warning in 2012 when she was accused of rudeness, an officer who received a verbal warning after he released a 14 year olds booking photo to the press in 2018, and another officer who received additional training in 2013 after a group of civilians accused her of swearing at them and referring to them as illegals.. Febo did not use any names in his statement, but addressed an incident 10 years ago where rifles were lost. 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. A police officer says he's on paid administrative leave for refusing to take down the 43-minute video that alleges corruption within the police department in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Police officer placed on leave, alleges corruption within department Matthew Moriarty, who handles communications for the department, all failed to answer numerous email and phone messages. I talked with two police chiefs in Minnesota about what happened when Tyre Nichols was stopped by Memphis police officers and fatally beaten last month. Use our free directory to instantly connect with verified Police Misconduct attorneys. His video, posted Sunday, has been viewed 27,000 times. In 1894 the New York State Senate launched the first comprehensive investigation of corruption in the NYPD. He has since been suspended for . Reserve Online Appointment for New LTC / Firearms' - TimeTap Each police department documented the incident and can be retrieved easily., Febo then addressed the incident in which Roca referred to an officer involving an alleged intentional boat accident. 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. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. 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. I said Im sorry but, respectfully, I refuse to take it down.. Massachusetts Officer Alleges Corruption Within Department v. Civil Service . 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." He wrote that because the boy refused several times to place his hand behind his back so that he could be handcuffed, Officer Romero was forced to place him on the ground.. 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.. 15 Massachusetts law enforcement officers suspended by reform commission Academic studies have shown its fairly common for police departments to sustain a small percentage of civilian complaints. Have you ever had a vision 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. But the police reform bill changed that, clarifying that those investigations are not personnel records. The other officer was chosen specifically due to his extensive knowledge and expertise in firearms, he is assigned to the ATF task force, he said. var tag_id = document.getElementById('buylinkHolyokePD-hg031021,ph1'); Three of those officers claimed more than 800 overtime hours that year, and another claimed more than 1,200 hours. used triad trailer for sale. '"; Holyoke mayor: Low rate of officer discipline doesn't mean police They pick and choose who they want to discipline and who they dont want to discipline.. To tackle these questions,"I'm a Cop"directly examines the words of READ THE REST, The Boston Globe recently printed an op-ed by former Ithaca, NY mayor Svante Myrick, who talks about his own city's approach to police reform. After Customers Paid Large Deposits for Home Projects, Contractor Files for Bankruptcy, How Much Snow Has Fallen in Your Area So Far, The House Where JonBenet Ramsey Was Found Dead Is Listed for Sale at Nearly $7M, FIRST ALERT: Wintry Mix Keeps Falling as Storm Hits New England (Live Radar). In this still from a video Roca posted to YouTube on March 7, 2021, Roca alleges there is corruption and racism in the Holyoke Police Department. Degnan said in her report that she offered him the ability to participate via telephone and that she did not receive a physicians note with sufficient detail to verify that he could not participate in the hearing. var photocredit = "'GAZETTE FILE PHOTO' 'Holyoke police officer parks in the train station on Main Street on Wednesday, April 28, 2021. The man alleged that Leahy tackled him to the ground at 2 a.m. after he had left a club, put a gun to his head and told him to shut up when he asked what was going on. Roca said that the department is rife with racism. The man, whose name the department redacted, said Leahy accused him of raising a handgun as he crossed the street in front of Leahys cruiser. 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. You have been subscribed to WBUR Today. (WWLP) - Holyoke's Chief of Police responded to the allegations of corruption within the department, made by an officer in a widely-circulated YouTube video. But some will be missing, Mass. . Manuel Febo, a Holyoke native who grew up in the. Holyoke Officer Rafael Roca, a former Marine hired in 2016, said in the 43-minute video .