Tag Archives: civilian review board for the Worcester Police Department

Fashion

Gordy – always in style! … 21st Century Lynching …

Demo at City Hall 7-7-16
Worcester protest – July 7, 2016. Lots of folks participated in this collective call to stop racial killings by police and to create a more equitable Worcester.

… and Racism in Worcester

By Gordon Davis

On July 6, 2016, two Black men were murdered by the police. Alton Sterling was killed in Baton Rouge. Philander Castile was killed in Minneapolis. As of this date 509 people have been killed by the police in 2016.

The majority of the people killed by the police are white people, people with dark skin are killed disproportionately more often. This is evidence of racial profiling. The inference is that stopping racial profiling will help everyone including white people.

In the late 19th Century and earlier 20th Century the Jim Crow laws of the racist Southern USA were enforced by the means of lynching Black people from a tree. Today the so called New Jim Crow, such as mass incarceration and the school to prison pipeline, is being enforced via the 21st Century’s new form of lynching, police killings.

On July 7, 2016, about 100 Worcester residents protested the racist killings of the day before. The protest was organized by Massachusetts Human Rights Committee, and the Progressive Labor Party organized the event. Other groups and individuals participated.

The protest in Worcester was one of several protests nationwide. There will be at one more protest in Springfield at its City Hall on Monday, July 11, 2016 starting at 3 PM.

One young man, apparently from Clark University, led the chant “No Justice, No Peace.” A lady protestor shouted out several times “‘racist cops’ means ‘fight back.’ ” Another speaker made the connection between income disparity and racism. This speaker sought economic equality as a means to abolish racism and other forms of discrimination.

Worcester’s problems with race relations were also raised in the speeches: the racist incident in which a City official used racially offensive language during a road rage incident, the malicious prosecution of the Black Lives Matter protesters and Worcester City Councilor Michael Gaffney’s attack on the Mosaic Complex were mentioned.

A lady came up to me and congratulated me for my opposition to City Coucilor Gaffney. She said he was arrogant, privileged and a frat boy. I told her I agreed.

The protesters made plans to meet again. Some wanted to discuss body cameras for the Worcester Police and the details of WPD Chief Sargent’s “Broken Windows” policing policy.

As the protest was winding down, a group of mostly young people started to walk to the Worcester police station as a means of venting the anger at the police. I would not be surprised should they demand and got a meeting with Chief Sargent. Sometimes the militancy of the young is quite amazing.

As I am writing this column I heard on the news that two police officers were killed in Texas. I personally condemn this type of individual “lone wolf” activity. Political action is done by the people in a mass way: demonstrations, rallies, petitions, meetings, etc.

The struggle for justice is a class struggle usually lasting decades. The same can be said for the struggle for racial and gender justice.

InCity Yum Yums

What does the police policy of Broken Windows mean for Worcester?

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A civilian review board for the Worcester Police Department!

By Gordon Davis

What does the police policy of Broken Windows mean for Worcester?

We will certainly soon find out.

Recently the new Worcester Chief of Police, Steven Sargent, and Worcester City Manager Edward Augustus were interviewed by a local paper. During the interview, Chief Sargent revealed that he will police Worcester based on the Broken Window Theory. This was somewhat of a surprise.

The Chief had not, to my knowledge, revealed to the public his thinking on criminology, race or body cameras on police officers.

The Broken Window Theory has several parts: one component is the cleaning up of the physical environment, which lets people see that an area is cared for and surveilled. Another part of the Broken Windows Theory has been called Zero Tolerance. A third part has been the removal of “undesirables.”

The removing of “undesirables” has been in effect in Worcester for more than a decade. The so called “aggressive” panhandling ordinances of the City of Worcester are examples of this. The Supreme Court of the United States recently ruled that Worcester’s ordinances on panhandlers are unconstitutional. In some instances, this practice has been the intentional precursor of gentrification.

One can only wonder what Chief Sargent and his boss, City Manager Ed Augustus have planned for these people. Whatever it is, the public should know.

City Manager Augustus, after being ruled against by the Supreme Court, spoke from his bully pulpit demanding that the residents of Worcester give money to charity and not to panhandlers.

Zero Tolerance is the practice of arresting people for minor or non-existent violations such as “disorderly.” Many statutes regarding “disorderly” or disturbing the peace are vague and give the police arbitrary and discretionary powers. This practice eventually evolved into New York City’s infamous Stop, Question and Frisk policy.

There is evidence that the Stop, Question and Frisk practices of the New York Police Department were racial profiling and violated the Fourth Amendment. The police stopped hundreds of thousands of law abiding New Yorkers annually – the vast majority Black and Latino.

I would like Chief Sargent to say there will be no Stop, Question and Frisk policy in Worcester.

I actually agree with the first part of the Broken Windows Theory. Property owners should be made to maintain their properties. In a 2005 Harvard University Study conducted in the “hot spots” of Lowell, Mass, it was determined that improving the physical environment, such as the better enforcement of building codes, is the most effective part of the Broken Windows Theory. It was also the least unlawful.

Almost all of what the Worcester Police Department does in the city is secretive: statistics, reports and records of police misconduct are impossible to get. Police Chief Sargent and City Manager Augustus have a duty to meet with the residents of this city to explain what is in their Broken Windows Policy. A discussion of how Broken Windows will affect the Black and Latino communities and other residents of Worcester is needed.

This should be a REAL discussion: It would be helpful (but unlikely) if the gang of three Worcester City Councilors – Michael Gaffney, Konnie Lukes and Gary Rosen – were excluded.

InCity Voices

This just in! Worcester top cop Gary Gemme says au revoir!

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Right now! Main South! Foot patrol in the neighborhood! Thank you, Chief Gemme! pics:R.T.

Statement by Mayor Joseph M. Petty on the retirement of Police Chief Gary J. Gemme:
 
For more than thirty years Chief Gemme has served the people of Worcester, over a decade as our police chief. 

In his time as the head of our police force he has overseen tremendous advancements in technology and crime analytics, making Worcester one of the safest of all cities in Massachusetts.
 
His lifelong commitment to our City was exemplified by his belief in community policing and his dedication to relationship building between his department and our neighbors. 

Chief Gemme oversaw the expansion of neighborhood crime watches, foot patrols in our downtown, and numerous programs which encouraged positive engagement with our City’s young people.
 
Chief Gemme made the WPD a leader in technology but never forgot that it is the relationship with the community that is the best crime prevention strategy. 

I wish him all the best in his well-earned retirement.
 

InCity Yum Yums

Have some yummy Worcester birthday cake tomorrow!

By Ron O’Clair

Tomorrow, Monday, February 29, Worcester will celebrate the 168th anniversary of its becoming a city. This event will be held at noon at City Hall.
  
There was originally going to be ice-skating on the Oval behind City Hall as part of the festivities, but the weather is too mild for that this year.
  
There will be refreshments served, and I am under the impression there will be birthday cake!
  
Worcester history is replete with examples of people who strived to ensure equality and justice for all equally under the law. We had even chiseled the words “Obedience to Law is Liberty” on the lintel of our historic monument to justice that was built to ensure that it was dispensed fairly and impartially at the Court House at Lincoln Square.

Many a patriot sacrificed all that they possessed – including their lives – to see that this would be their legacy to the world, a free and democratic society where a person could avail themselves of the freedom to better themselves regardless of the color of their skin, their background, nationality or heritage.
  
We held that promise for generations, since the time of the early settlers who fought to establish the colony of Quinsigamond during the King Phillips War that eventually ended up being first the Town of Worcester and then the City of Worcester 168 years ago this month.
  
I hope that you will join in the celebration and come to City Hall to celebrate the 168th Birthday of our city!

*****

Later on the same day, there will be a Coalition against Bias and Hate meeting that stems from the Department of Justice Race Relations talks this summer.

It will be held at the Belmont AME Zion Church on Illinois Street from 6:30 p.m. until 8 p.m. That should be interesting and refreshments will also will be served.
  
I see this as an opportunity for the City of Worcester to show the rest of the country how to maintain civility during what can oftentimes be heated discussions about racial tensions. Many allege that there are cases of outright discrimination and bias based upon a person’s skin color, and for no other reason that prevents them from benefiting equally under the law.

This can be a golden opportunity to be heard. I urge those folks who have issues to bring them to the table. I suspect that this is actually going to be more of a presentation put on by the City of Worcester to inform the attendees of what the City of Worcester has done since the talks this summer in the way of addressing issues brought up from the talks. It will also be an opportunity for city leaders to showcase the City of Worcester’s plans to ensure equal treatment under the law for all citizens regardless of race, gender or sexual identity.
  
At any rate, it should be worth taking the time to attend.

Comments?/Questions? ronaldoclair@hotmail.com

InCity Voices

The restraining arm of “Papito”

By Ron O’ Clair

[Recently] I had reason to summon the Worcester Police to come and remove six drug-addicted persons out of one of the individual rooms here in the rooming house I manage on Main Street, at the corner of Charlton and Main streets.

I did so after receiving a complaint from the tenant who is the only person authorized by management to occupy this SRO [Single Room Occupancy] unit.

He is being systematically robbed of his monthly income by these people who he will allow to enter the building, and then when they don’t go away when he tells them to, he calls me to make them leave.

Generally, I will do that myself, and most times the people will all scramble out when I tell them to go.

The only problem is, when I turn my back on them, right back they come either by disabling the front door lock mechanism or the rear security gate, and that requires me to constantly be on guard, to the detriment of the work I have to do to accomplish my mission.

I thought that here is an excellent opportunity to have some of these people brought up on charges for trespassing at the very least.

Well, can you figure what happened when the Worcester Police came in answer to my call for their assistance?

Police officers Chau & McKenna refused to charge any of them … they were just allowed to leave even after the fact that when the police were knocking on the unit door, I was stationed at the kitchen door waiting for the room window to open so they could bail out that way.

And sure enough, while they were stalling on opening the door, they started climbing out the window!

I got the attention of Officer McKenna and he came to make sure they went back in the room. Then they realized they were caught and that Officer Chau had told them to open the door because we have the key anyway, so they did.

There were six known drug addicted persons in the room, a mixture of drug users and prostitutes.

These are the same individuals who I have repeatedly told to stop trespassing and stay off the property. They simply ignore all attempts made by either the previous owner or myself to make that happen.

The Worcester Police always are quick to tell the owner and myself what we need to do to stop this behavior with their suggestions of beefing up security and many other suggestions.

But they are unwilling to do the job required of them by locking up the criminals, so that they will learn not to come back on threat of going back to jail.

I have called at least 10,000 times for police assistance over the 13 year period that I have been the responsible party for this particular piece of Real Estate here in Worcester (That can be verified by public record as statistics kept by the Worcester Police Department.)

The result? Only to have the criminals repeatedly allowed to walk away with no criminal charges, or as in the recent episode, without even having the benefit of a check for wants and warrants on those individuals – some of whom may have had warrants for their arrest on file.

After that incident, I was down in the lobby when I saw a fellow fire off seven rounds out of a semi-automatic hand gun!

Directly opposite where I was with my dangling Fujifilm 18x digital camera around my neck.

As I was attempting to start it up and film the shooter casually walking toward the getaway vehicle that was waiting with the engine running on Wellington Street the street person that was with me prevented me from doing so. Out of his fear that we would be shot as the next target when the suspect looked and saw me there with the camera poised ready to start.

If not for the intervention of “Papito” as this person is called on the street, I would have boldly gone where I have been going for the last 13 years and zoomed in on the license plate of the getaway vehicle as well as the face of the shooter.

Yea though it is very dangerous for me, it is just what I would have done if not for the restraining arm of “Papito” who was concerned for not only my safety, but his own.

I will never not stand up as a man to do the right thing and assist the local police (as inefficient as they can be) to maintain order in my community as is my duty as a citizen.

Nor will I live in fear or on my knees in subjugation to criminal minded drug dealers who think they can control the 700 block of Main Street in Worcester, city of birth.

It is not in my nature to cower in fear of retribution, and I do firmly believe that the God of my understanding has my back anyway.

InCity Voices

The City of Worcester’s Misuse of Police  

By Gordon Davis

The order by a city official to arrest community activist Chris Horton at the Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast came as no surprise to me. The City of Worcester has a history of misusing its police force to solve what are social issues.

In the 1990s, then Mayor Raymond Mariano ordered the police to arrest students not in school during school hours, despite the fact that the Worcester Public Schools had truant officers who did the same job. This practice was opposed by a small group, the International Committee Against Racism, which argued police arresting children was a traumatizing event. The City leaders did not listen. The practice of the police arresting children for playing hooky was effectively stopped by a complaint made to the State Department of Labor Relations. The Hearing Officer ruled that arresting children for playing hooky was outside of the police contract.

Recently Mayor Joseph Petty and others passed an ordinance allowing the arrest of panhandlers. The proponents of the use of police force against this social issue used the pretext of “public safety.” In memory there was never anyone injured by a car while panhandling. Hundreds of people were wrongfully arrested under this ordinance. The Supreme Court of the United States has ruled the ordinances unconstitutional. The ACLU and a small group of activists, Real Solutions, opposed the unconstitutional ordinances.

Last year the Worcester City Council instructed Worcester City Manager Ed Augustus to put police officers full time in the Worcester Public Schools.  The City Council and Worcester School Committee had assigned full time police officers to each of the high schools. They did this BEFORE the Safety Report was completed. They did this BEFORE the State of Massachusetts required Memorandum of Understanding was completed. It is still not completed.

There is no evidence that the Worcester Public Schools had a serious safety issue. There is no evidence that police in the schools have made any school safer today. 

There is evidence that more students are being arrested at school for non-criminal activities that should be handled by the State mandated disciplinary policies found in M.G.L. Chap 222, Acts of 2012.

There is evidence that these arrests are traumatic experiences for the students and contribute to the school to jail pipeline. 

Two small groups, Mass. Human Rights and the Progressive Labor Party, are opposing the arresting of students at school.

The groups are hosting a “Students’ Rights Forum” on January 30 at 1 PM at the Worcester Public Library, 3 Salem Square.
 
The most obvious misuse of police force was the malicious prosecution of the BlackLives Matter protestors after the Kelly Square demonstration of 2015.

There was not enough evidence for either the police or the DA to file charges. City Manager Augustus then ordered the police department to use an unauthenticated video to take to the Clerk Magistrate.

The Clerk Magistrate ruled that there was some evidence of disturbing the peace.  At the trial the police sergeant said he did not see anyone at the demonstration do anything criminal. The judge has ruled that there were no criminal penalties. At this point: 3 of the 4 have been fined $100 each for disturbing the peace.

Phil Niddrie, co-chair of the MLK Jr. Breakfast, could have talked to Chris Horton BEFORE he called the police.

The so called liberals in our city government are quicker to use police force than to talk about other solutions.

In each of the events above there was an element of direct or disparate racism impact. This is especially true in the Worcester Public Schools, where thousands of students face an increased risk of arrest for non-criminal matters.

Many in the Black Community wonder aloud how did the MLK Jr. Breakfast get hijacked by the political establishment???

The use of police force to solve social problems is a sign of laziness and a lack of creativity among our city officials.

There is certainly a need to consider this when choosing who controls the police in our city.

InCity Voices

Congrats, Ronny! We “salute” our proud graduate of the WPD Worcester Police Clergy Academy!!!!

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November 5, 2015 – ICT contributing writer Ron O’Clair in WPD Squad Room B just before the graduation ceremony! Go, Ronny, go!!!

Here’s Ron’s story on the Academy:

The Worcester Police Department has expanded its Clergy Academy to accommodate citizens as well as members of the clergy. It is an 8-week course designed to familiarize the participants with the various tasks associated with police work here in the City of Worcester and to perhaps help ease tensions between the police and the community at large.
  
It is open to citizens who are interested and pass the required records check to determine suitability for the program.
  
The first of the three hour weekly sessions deals with Administrative Details, Chief’s Greeting, Department Organization, Participant Introductions, Bureau of Professional Standards, the second deals with Constitutional Law, Criminal Law. The third deals with WPD Court Liaison Office, Use of Force. The fourth deals with District Attorney’s Office, Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault. The fifth deals with Youth Violence: Gang Unit, and Vice Squad. The sixth deals with Community Impact & School Liaison. The seventh deals with Stress Unit, Cultural Training, & Cell Room /Booking Procedures. The eighth and final class is when they hold the Graduation Ceremony for those who have successfully completed the course and issue a Certificate of Completion.
  
Somewhere during the intervening weeks participants are allowed to schedule a Ride-Along with an officer on duty on the shift of their choosing to get a sense of what an officer faces on a daily, or nightly basis.
  
As I am well aware of the level of activity that transpires overnights here in and on the City of Worcester streets, I chose to do the Ride-Along during the 11-7 shift, and was surprised to see that many of the other participants also chose that time slot.
  
The subject matter of discussion as I write this was on Constitutional and Criminal Law, and the class was taught by Lieutenant John Towns, who informed the class that actual Police Academy participants spend 186 hours of study on these subjects which he had only three hours to teach the participants of the Clergy/Civilian Academy on. I found the course informative and interesting, as was the discussions generated by the course materials between the Lt.. and the participants in the Academy.
  
I believe that this is a good program that will help to raise awareness of policy and procedures of the police here in Worcester and that it can only help the participants understand our department better as well as hopefully bring about more participation from the public in assisting the police in maintaining order in our community.
  
As many of you readers know, I have been an outspoken advocate of Law Enforcement, while at the same time not afraid to call attention to individual officers deserving of recognition, be it for doing good deeds or bad, I call it like I see it.

In the final analysis, we the people must support our local Law Enforcement, and not be afraid to bring attention to those deserving of reprimand for actions detrimental to the public interests.

The Bureau of Professional Standards of the Worcester Police Department is there for all to have an opportunity to address grievances they may have with any individual officer and is required to investigate any allegation of misconduct on the part of any of its officers.

They can even be reached online through the WorcesterMa.Gov website, and you can access that in seven different languages by scrolling to the bottom of the page and clicking on the flag icon of the language you are most familiar with.

– Ron O’Clair

InCity Voices

Lincoln Square 6/20 – Some thoughts on our police force after participating in the First Responders’ Lives Matter rally

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Balloons at Lincoln Square …

By Ron O’Clair

I was honored to have attended and participated in the “First Responders’ Lives Matter Rally” held at the World War I monument at Lincoln Square, Saturday, June 20, from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

I stayed nearly an hour holding signs and supporting our men and women here in Worcester and the surrounding communities who go out of their way to help people – often at the risk of their own safety and well being.

I believe it is important to support our local police, fire and emergency medical services personnel.

I believe strongly that Worcester is more fortunate than many other communities throughout our country where there have been many cases of misconduct. Sure, we have a certain degree of problems with official misconduct being ignored and actually having been covered up by a corrupt system that long held sway here, in the second largest City in New England. Worcester was once a hotbed of political cronyism, outrageous nepotism and flagrant disregard for the rights of the accused to be treated as innocent until proven guilty. But I believe Worcester has been making progress …

The recent events, such as the arrest and conviction of one former Worcester police officer for rape and indecent assault, and the arrest of another Worcester police officer for mistreating a prisoner and using racial epithets can only serve to make our Worcester Police Department more aware of the consequences of using the authority vested in each officer improperly and that this can lead to consequences.

I have personally been mistreated by the police in the past myself, but I cling to the belief that as imperfect as it can be, our system is the only thing preventing us from becoming another battleground like Ferguson or Baltimore.

It is important that we support the police, the fire, and the emergency medical services people, and if we have grievances, we need to address them through the proper channels.

To this end, I believe that there should be more effective means for aggrieved citizens to have their concerns addressed fairly and impartially.

The current process leaves a lot to be desired, such as the case in which I reported a police officer for an unprovoked physical attack upon my person to the Bureau of Professional Standards of the Worcester Police, only to have the complaint dismissed as “unfounded” or “not sustained” – even though in that case another police officer witnessed the offending officer assaulting me.

The “Blue Wall” of silence needs to be reviewed.

I would have been sufficiently content with a simple apology on behalf of the officer who transgressed upon me as I understand the stress they operate under.

When and if you find yourself in the position of having your rights violated, or taken for granted, the best course of action would be to endure the mistreatment and make a complaint later.

It is not wise to antagonize, or argue with an officer, which will just lead to more, and worse mistreatment.

On the whole, I am optimistic that Worcester has come a long way to address these issues, and to ensure that the trend continues so that all citizens are treated equally under the law, providing that they are law-abiding citizens and not criminals engaged in criminal activity who resist arrest when apprehended.

In those cases, if you get hurt by failure to obey the lawful commands of an officer of the law, what results is your own damned fault, and I have no sympathy for you.

InCity Voices

Why the Department of Justice needs to investigate the Worcester Police Department

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Worcester police officers in downtown Worcester

By Gordon Davis

Recently the Department of Justice wrote a negative report regarding misconduct and the poor practices of the Cleveland Police Department.

Some of the issues in Cleveland that were found in need of improvement:

The unnecessary and excessive use of deadly force, including shootings and head strikes with impact weapons

The unnecessary, excessive or retaliatory use of less lethal force including tasers, chemical spray and fists

Excessive force against persons who are mentally ill or in crisis, including in cases where the officers were called exclusively for a welfare check

and the employment of poor and dangerous tactics that place police officers in situations where avoidable force becomes inevitable and places officers and civilians at unnecessary risk.

The report also described a lack of transparency in the Cleveland Police Department that allowed the misconduct to continue over many years.

In Worcester no one outside of the Worcester Police Department can say with certainty how much police misconduct there is in the Worcester Police Department.

For decades this information has been kept from the public, even when ordered by the courts to make it public.
The ACLU, the daily and others have tried to obtain what should be public records from the Worcester Police Department – a city department funded by the taxpayers. With each attempt, the Worcester Police Department has blocked any significant release of public records.

There is evidence of police misconduct.

The latest being the allegations that a Worcester Police officer beat up a shackled prisoner in the Worcester lock up.

Even here the videotape of the alleged misconduct has not been released.

In light of the many allegations of misconduct by the Worcester Police and the lack of transparency, an investigation by the Department of Justice would be welcomed.

The DOJ investigation might find that:

1. the Worcester police are relatively well managed and the department is doing a good job.

2. the Worcester Police Department is non-compliant to the civil rights of residents – police officers can be abusive.

3. the Worcester Police Department is slightly flawed and in need of only some changes.

This DOJ investigation will confirm or belay any trust issues with the communities of color. The powers that be should not be afraid of such an investigation by the Department of Justice. After all, the city manager asked it to come to Worcester to help with race relations. It makes sense for city officials to now ask the Department of Justice to give its seal of approval – or disapproval – to the Worcester Police Department.

This is troubling: At DOJ meeting #1, held May 18 at the YWCA in Worcester  – a black woman was booed by white people when she raised the suggestion of the Department of Justice investigating the Worcester Police Department. It was more troubling when a local newspaper columnist made light of her suggestion.

There still exists a great divide in race relations in Worcester.

There is a need for the additional action of the Department of Justice. The DOJ should investigate the Worcester Police Department – to see the good and what needs to be improved. Local lives hang in the balance.

It seems local activists are writing a letter to the U.S. Attorney office of Carmen Ortiz – making this petition.

InCity Voices

The tale of the tapes: 4 other police officers allegedly witnessed beating of prisoner

By Gordon Davis

A Worcester police officer, Michael Motyka, was arrested recently in Worcester for allegedly violating the civil rights of a Black man being held in the lockup at the Worcester Police Station on Belmont Street. He allegedly beat the handcuffed and shackled victim while calling him racial slurs.

The incident took place in December 2014 and was videotaped by the cameras in the police lock-up.

The Worcester District Attorney’s office has refused to release a copy of the tape to the public.

The spokesman for the DA stated that a special prosecutor will be appointed and that it is policy not to release tapes of criminal acts until after a trial.

The problem with this policy, for this case, is that at least four other police officers allegedly witnessed the beating of the victim by officer Motyka.

And did nothing.

The issue in this case is not only the civil rights violations by officer Motyka but also the civil rights violations of the officers who allegedly witnessed the beating and racial slurs and did nothing to protect the victim.

This is a civil rights violation in itself and a violation of Worcester Police Department policy – which is under the purview of the City of Worcester. The WPD is funded by the Worcester taxpayer. How is our money being spent?

The tape should be released to the public so the public can review the policies and actions of the Worcester Police Department.

The Worcester Police Department, which is responsible for the tape, has the ability to release it. The WPD should be fully transparent on this issue.

The irony of the tape is that the City of Worcester has spent a lot money and used a lot of resources on another tape roiling Worcester: the videotape of the Black Lives Matter protesters at Kelly Square. Another tape reflecting the way Worcester deals with race/racial issues. The City of Worcester will likely not be able to use this tape in court, as it can not be authenticated. Furthermore, the protesters did not beat up anyone and did not use racial slurs, as in the first tape. 

In the BLM protest tape, a motorist might have been “annoyed.” The BLM protesters never ignored any police commands to “disburse,” as the police were not present at the protest. The protesters disbursed on their own volition.

The BLM protesters look like altar boys compared to the Worcester police officers – recorded on an official WPD videotape. Worcester Police Officer Motyka who allegedly beat the handcuffed and shackled prisoner. And the police officers who stood by – and allegedly did nothing as they witnessed blatant police brutality.

In the case of Motyka, the City of Worcester should suspend the police officers who did nothing while police officer Motyka allegedly beat up a shackled prisoner, until their cases are adjudicated. The Motyka tape is a part of the review of violations of Worcester Police Department policy.

These charges are exponentially worse than the charges against the BLM protesters who might have annoyed a motorist.

A defense for the BLM protesters seems to be “legitimate purpose,” which means that there was a need to bring attention to the misconduct of the Worcester Police. The Motyka case is evidence of the legitimate purpose of the protesters.

There is evidence that the City of Worcester is maliciously prosecuting the protesters. Malicious Prosecution is a civil rights violation and it has four elements : 1. commencement of criminal proceedings, 2. the proceedings are adjudicated in the victims favor, 3. There was not probable cause, 4. The proceeding was brought with malice.

This should be investigated by the Department of Justice when it comes to Worcester.

When I first heard of the arrest of Worcester Police Officer Motyka, I was encouraged,  thinking perhaps Worcester had changed its review of police misconduct.  If the review process is taken more seriously by the City, the protesters at Kelly Square had a lot to do with it. Now I am not sure if there is substantive improvement in Worcester government.

Worcester Mayor Joseph Petty has come out against a civilian review board for the Worcester Police Department, even though Worcester Police Chief Gary Gemme is open to the possibility. It is time that Mayor Petty realizes he is now part of the problem.

Worcester City Manager Ed Augustus’ refusal to drop the charges against the BLM protesters in light of events shows a “business as usual” policy at Worcester City Hall.