The City Council in Springfield, Massachusetts will hold a special meeting Tuesday to receive updates on the status of police reforms and on the civilian board charged with disciplining officers.
It has been 11 months since the city and the Department of Justice agreed to put the Springfield Police Department under a consent decree that calls for changes in policies and procedures including use-of-force, officer training, and internal investigations.
It has been a year since Mayor Domenic Sarno appointed the five-member Board of Police Commissioners. The civilian body came into being after a years-long standoff between the Council and the mayor that was decided in the Council’s favor by the state’s highest court.
The civilian board has struggled over the last 12 months to find its footing.
WAMC’s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill spoke with Springfield City Council President Jesse Lederman.
Jesse Lederman
This is in keeping with the public pledge that I've made to hold quarterly Committee of the Whole hearings relative to the status of the implementation of the Police Commission, as well as the status of the DOJ consent decree. This will be our second hearing and our first hearing in 2023. We've confirmed attendance directly from the City Solicitor John Payne, as well as (Springfield Police Dept) Superintendent Cheryl Clapprood and the new chair of the Springfield Police Commission. Norman Roldan. So we expect that all three will attend and will present their updates to the city council as well as take questions from members of the council. I think that, you know, this is going to be an important process for us to continue. Certainly, both the consent decree complying with it and the implementation of the Police Commission are some of the most significant policies to come forth in terms of police reform in the city of Springfield, and we need to make sure that residents and officers alike have the opportunity to understand where these reforms are, and have questions through their representatives answered. So we expect a robust conversation. And you know, as City Council President, that's something that I pledged to continue to make sure that we have those opportunities to check in quarterly.
Paul Tuthill
The monitor who regularly updates the federal court on the progress of the city complying with the consent decree, has on more than one occasion, identified the Board of Police Commissioners as a problem. Is there anything legislatively that you believe the council might do in order to correct this problem?
Jesse Lederman
The Board of Police Commissioners is not the problem. It is the administration of the Board of Police Commissioners that I believe, is the problem. And we've been vocal about this from the beginning, the Police Commission cannot be successful, if it does not have the tools and resources in place to do so. And in order for that to be the case, they're going to need proper administrative support, they're going to need proper training, independent legal counsel, and the ability to function as the legislation actually calls for them to which is not just as a disciplinary board, but also as a board that is working together with the community and law enforcement to influence policy, and also look at hiring and promotion. I mean, as the board currently functions, we've seen the results that come from that. And I think in too many ways, the board has been set up to fail. Those are concerns that we raised during the first hearing, you know, in 2022. And I think that what we're looking to hear is how much has changed since then, and what is the plan for the Board of Police Commissioners to ultimately assume their full authority. Now, in order for that to be done responsibly, they need the resources, training and tools to be able to be successful. And I think if you look at the reporting that we've seen thus far, again, the the argument is not that the Police Commission is a problem. The argument is that the way in which it is currently functioning is a problem. And that's a direct result of the way that this administration has chosen to limit the support for the police commission and something that certainly we want to see change. And I will add, we have certainly invited the monitor. They've indicated that they are not able to speak publicly in a setting like that at this time, but they will be watching the hearing. And the same goes for the DOJ. They've been notified that the hearing will be occurring and I understand they intend to monitor it
