At the time, Roca told the commission that he had told Monsalve he was OK with the driver being placed in protective custody instead of being arrested because he did not view it as his decision.. 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. Internal affairs is corrupt as can be, Roca said in his video. Rafael Roca, 37,. var currentheadline = document.getElementById("headline").innerText; Mount Holyoke College Assistant Vice President for Civil Rights and Find Top Holyoke, MA Police Misconduct Lawyers Near You | LawInfo Isaac Holyoke, director of communications at CleanSpark, said the shift made it easier for employees to communicate with each other and that employees value "autonomy and flexibility." "People are used to being at home when they can go on business when they need to, and we have kept that culture here in the office," Holyoke said. "We cannot expect people to have respect for law and order until we teach respect to those we Others, he added, have managed to escape from serious instances of misconduct without any disciplinary action. [15] Located 8 miles (13 km) north of Springfield, Holyoke is part of the Springfield Metropolitan Area, one of the two distinct metropolitan areas in Massachusetts." Story about Holyoke police beating a 12 year old Latino boy in 2014 and fallout: "Three Holyoke police officers beat a 12-year . During the debate, City Councilor Jos Maldonado Velez referred to the police as a gang., It literally is, he said in the meeting. Holyoke police officer fired over video accusing department of Within the department, he said he had been shamed. He went on to say that he felt as though he would either be fired or suspended for posting the 45-minute long video. //var LBtag_id = document.getElementById('buylinkLBRocaHolyokeFiring-hg-111721,ph1'); Despite the high Puerto Rican population in Holyoke, Roca said there are not enough police officers from the community. Roca also told the newspaper he plans to file a lawsuit over how he was treated. Roca said he has already appealed that decision to the states Civil Service Commission. He says he was consistently singled out for vocalizing his opposition to the police chief, made to repeat pieces of training and attacked via email for not supporting one supervisors protest against police reform. Myrick was originally elected when he 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. He said that Febo and others have stepped in to prevent him from getting jobs with other police departments. The police are policing themselves., Maldonado Velez is not the first city councilor who has come under fire from Holyokes police unions. But some will be missing, Mass. Roca said he expected to face discipline after posting the video but was invested in calling attention to what he saw as problems within the department. I think it just really supports the theory of nothing is going to happen, nothing is going to change, she said. Holyoke Officer Rafael Roca, a former Marine hired in 2016, said in the 43-minute video . During the mayoral campaign, Garcias opponent, At-large City Councilor Michael Sullivan, responded to the Gazettes reporting by calling for an audit of the police departments handling of state and federal grant programs, calling the use of overtime excessive. Garcia responded to say that he, too, would support an audit. Holyoke Police Department | Holyoke MA - Facebook If you go behind the curtain of law enforcement, oftentimes youll hear officers say the surest way not to get a complaint is not to interact with the public, he said. In my view, the violation of Rule 3 of the Holyoke Police Department rules alone is just cause for the five-day suspension and termination because police officers must follow lawful orders, Degnan wrote. The city of Holyoke is not alone in resisting transparency, and I think thats the only way to describe an 18-month delay in providing access to records that clearly were public, said Jeffrey Pyle, an attorney with the firm Prince Lobel Tye LLP who specializes in media and First Amendment law. 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.. The city attorney suggested that under the circumstances the city was getting off easy. Two of the civilian complaints that NEPM obtained alleged that police violently arrested students in the citys schools. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Reminders Publishing. A Massachusetts police officer who posted a video online alleging corruption within his department says he has been placed on paid administrative leave after refusing to take it down and will probably lose his job. Another was accused of sexual assault while he was off duty. Nobody should get away with taking the law into their own hands and being above it, he said. Yeah they didnt waste any time. Holyoke police officer Rafael Roca. Listen That outcome police officers facing no discipline after a civilian alleges wrongdoing is hardly unique to Concepcions case. Boing Boing is published under a Creative Commons Click here to sign up for our weekly coronavirus newsletter. Notes. Roca said he was suspended for violating the departments social media policy, which bars officers from criticizing the department on social media platforms. Many of those officers all but one of whom are supervisors collected tens of thousands of dollars last year in overtime pay. Holyoke, MA Those who are paying attention to the ever-expanding police state in the land of the free know that the system is set up in such a way that it protects bad cops while punishing the good ones. used triad trailer for sale. Febo addresses the allegation that minority officers are not given opportunity for specialized assignments, as Roca said in his video that minorities are underrepresented in specialized positions. 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. He also called for the FBI or the state attorney generals office to investigate the department. Pyle represented the WorcesterTelegram & Gazettein the newspapers 2018 lawsuit against the city of Worcester over its police departments illegal withholding of misconduct records. I dont think the mayors office is the right place to do a criminal investigation of the police, Murphy said when asked whether the city had investigated Rocas claims. Holyoke Police Department | Boing Boing HOLYOKE, Mass. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Neiswanger said that a tipster found the gun in an alley, and that the mayors presence was a coincidence. It was not there to help me.. In an interview, POST Commission Executive Director Enrique Zuniga said the agencys investigations will eventually come before the full commission, which can go so far as to decertify officers found to have violated state standards a career-ending type of decision, Zuniga said. 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. Roca mentioned the incident in his video over the weekend. of hallermotorworx.com Informacin detallada del sitio web y la empresa HOLYOKE Two days after a Holyoke Police Officer posted a viral YouTube video accusing his own department of corruption and racism, Police Chief Manny Febo has clapped back. | Danielle Eatondeaton@thereminder.com, An officer with the Holyoke Police Deparment recently released a YouTube video, which contained allegations of corruption within the department.Reminder Publishing photo by Danielle Eaton. 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.. '"; Police Corruption Holyoke, MA : 2020PoliceBrutality - reddit If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Roca said that he has only received one formal and one informal complaint during his five years on the force a claim that appears to be corroborated by an internal affairs log the Gazette has obtained through a public records request. Israelis protest legal overhaul plans for 9th week - WWLP She wrotethat she believed Rocas public statements to be untruthful and self-serving, and that he made them with the intent to defame the Holyoke Police Department.. Among Roca's more generalized allegations, he called out the department for: a. The Hampden District Attorney's Office told NEPM it was unable to confirm this report or comment on it without more information, like the name of the defendant, which was redacted from the public records response. The suspended officers are listed below: Devon Bones, Holyoke Police Department Bryan Custadio, Fall River Police Department Leon Davis, Springfield Police Department Ernest Fontaine,. The agency still has not released that data because of the need to clean up and validate the massive data set, according to Zuniga. Roca also said that other officers have not been fired after breaking the law driving drunk, for example losing firearms and other misconduct. Roca said he has received support from former co-workers who are scared to speak out and from many others in the city. Coughlin has been living large on his State Police pension of $131,961 a year. I think the common response is, Why bother? she said. Uploaded By Greenpalace1. Holyoke officer who exposes police corruption in video gets suspended Hed be gone by then.. Project Advances, What Happened to the Money?' The outstanding efforts of the men and women of the police department have resulted in a reduction in crime over the last two years. (AP) A Massachusetts police officer who posted a video online alleging corruption within his department says he has been placed on paid administrative leave after refusing to take it down and will probably lose his job. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Holyoke Police Department | Holyoke, MA Later that evening, however, Roca and another officer saw the fire department lieutenant drive by in his car again at high speed. Joshua Garcia was sworn in as Holyokes 45th mayor on Monday. Ill probably lose my job, but Im good. He also made the case that his statements were on matters of public concern; a Holyoke Police Department rule bars criticism of the department except on matters of public concern.. The comments are concerning, erroneous, harmful, but most importantly divisive, Capt. Thank you! Holyoke officer suspended for viral video alleging corruption, racism Im very confident that something is going to come of it, he said. var tag_id = document.getElementById('buylinkRocaHolyokeFiring-hg-111721,ph1'); At least 85,000 law enforcement officers across the USA have been investigated or disciplined for misconduct over the past decade, an investigation by USA TODAY Network found. I stand by the integrity of the men and women of the Holyoke Police Department and I welcome any outside agency that would like to look into any of the alleged allegations from the video, he said in a statement. if (photocredit.indexOf(sellablestring) > -1 || photocredit.indexOf(sellablestring2) > -1 || photocredit.indexOf(sellablestring3) > -1 || photocredit.indexOf(sellablestring4) > -1) { Because when you speak up and you expose corruption, he said in the video, thats what they do.. //LBtag_id.innerHTML = ' Buy this Image'; A newly released independent audit of the Holyoke Police Department finds the HPD poses a "substantial risk" to the city it serves. In his internal report on the incident, HPDs internal affairs officer, Manuel Reyes, said police pulled over Concepcion for a traffic violation. Murphy reportedly said he felt no pressure to fire Roca before he left office.