The Appellant left the Holyoke Police Station at approximately 11:00 p.m. and proceeded to the detail in his personal vehicle by means of Southampton Road. Roca said he has received support from former co-workers who are scared to speak out and from many others in the city. That is roughly 53 percent of non-minority officers with eight years or more who are assigned to specialized assignments., Additional he said there were 38 officers total with six years or less of full-time experience, Of those 38, 17 are minority officers. Daily Hampshire Gazette Contests & Promotions, Daily Hampshire Gazette Evening Top Reads, Daily Hampshire Gazette Weekly Top Stories, Daily Hampshire Gazette Dining & Entertainment, Support the
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. Holyoke Officer Rafael Roca, a former Marine hired in 2016, said in the 43-minute video . '";
For those reasons, Reyes cleared the officers of violating department policies. Now that Roca has filed an appeal, the Civil Service Commission will decide whether the termination holds up. He said he is disappointed with how city officials reacted to his allegations. Last August, Holyoke Mayor Joshua Garcia hired the New. Roca also said he wasnt surprised he was fired, but expressed disappointment that no city, state or federal officials fully investigated his allegations, according to the Gazette. During the semester however if an accommodation var sellablestring4 = "GAZETTE FILE PHOTO"; When Massachusetts lawmakers passed a sweeping police reform law in late 2020, one of the bills provisions opened up law enforcement misconduct investigations to greater scrutiny under the states public records law. Holyoke Police Department's 24 hour anonymous "TEXT-A-TIP" Dial CRIMES (533-TIPS or 533-8477). Febo, who plans to retire in July, said he has nothing to hide. "Yeah, they didn't waste any time. 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. The HPD is not the only local department that rarely disciplines officers based on civilian complaints. One person sent to hospital after car crash in Holyoke The backlash was swift from the citys two police unions, which called on Maldonado Velez to apologize or recuse himself from votes related to the police department. In it, he alleged that superior officers falsify overtime pay, have protected each other from punishment for misconduct and have fostered a culture of favoritism and racism when it comes to promotion.
HOLYOKE, Mass One person was killed during a shooting at the Holyoke Mall Saturday night, according to the Hampden County District Attorney's office. The officers on the scene denied that they had drawn their weapons and challenged the extent of the mans injuries; they said he refused to get out of the car and then reached for the center console. var sellablestring4 = "GAZETTE FILE PHOTO"; 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. If that doesn't work, move to step 2: literally shoot the messenger On March 7, Holyoke police officer Rafael Roca posted a video on YouTube alleging racism and corruption by the Holyoke Police Department. I stand behind the video and what I said in it.. Holyoke police officer parks in the train station on Main Street on Wednesday, April 28, 2021. Now, he said, one of his sons was on pain medication because of the force Romero used to arrest him. 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. 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. HOLYOKE, Mass. The police are among the very worst offenders under the current Massachusetts public records regime, even after all of the legislative progress that has been made.. I stand behind the video and what I said in it. Suspected. In his own time, he said that he witnessed classmates incarcerated as part of the school-to-prison pipeline.. In a nearly 45-minute speech, he alleges that superior officers in the department falsify overtime pay, have protected each other from punishment from misconduct and have fostered a culture of favoritism and racism when it comes to promotion. Valentin, who went on to work as a staffer for U.S. Sens. Alex Benjamin Morse (born January 29, 1989) is an American politician who served as the 44th mayor of Holyoke, Massachusetts from 2012 to 2021. Roca has NEVER provided any credible information or documentation to substantiate his claims to the HPD, his union, the FBI, Attorney General or any other investigators that I am aware of, Pratt wrote, adding that Roca was given due process. Asked on Monday what he thinks will happen to him after he spoke out against the department and other officers, Roca said he expects to be fired a possibility he mentioned in his video. 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. He said he felt as though for too long officers have been afraid to speak up and wanted this to change. According to the commissions decision, it had been Rocas first solo patrol in October 2016 when he pulled over a driver who had been driving down the street in the opposite direction. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Instead of being a man and admitting he made a mistake about seeing me with a firearm, he chose to remain silent and never appeared in court.. 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. 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. Others, he added, have managed to escape from serious instances of misconduct without any disciplinary action. His video, posted Sunday, has been viewed 27,000 times. He also called for the FBI or the state attorney generals office to investigate the department. In the almost 45-minute video, Roca recounted favoritism, covering up lost and stolen weapons and other instances of corruption. '"; This video posted online by Former Holyoke Police Officer Rafael Roca may well have been lost to history and future litigants contending with the police misconduct in Western MA if it had not been rescued by the Internet Archive (which is currently fighting off a vexatious lawsuit filed by a greedy publishing monopolist lobbying group which wants to burn down the Internet's proverbial 'Library . Early on in his tenure with the department, Roca was called to testify in an appeal hearing before the state Civil Service Commission over the suspension of a superior, Sgt. Rafael Roca, a former US Marine who became a Holyoke, MA police officer in 2016, released this 43-minute video on Sunday exposing the corruption in his department. Work Schedule:Monday through Friday Department Summary & Job Purpose: The Assistant Vice President for Civil Rights and Title IX Coordinator is a key leader of the College's equity and compliance work and an essential member of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion team centered around creating an inclusive campus community . 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. He said when he spoke out against the alleged injustice, racism and favoritism and nepotism that he had witnessed, he was punished and shunned. Roca said his attempts to transfer to a different police department were allegedly sabotaged by the chief, and cited a single informal complaint made against him that he said ended with no investigation and him working in an administrative role for more than a month. 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. Twelve of the 46 patrolmen with eight years or more of experience are part of a minority group, and nine of them have specialized positions, Febo wrote. AMHERST Amherst Police Chief Scott Livingstone will retire in May after nearly 14 years leading a department he joined upon graduating from AMHERST Unions at the University of Massachusetts are contending that more than 100 state jobs, and their accompanying benefits, are being WALTERBORO, S.C. One of the last pieces of a legal dynasty that doled out justice in rural South Carolina for decades crumbled Friday as lawyer WASHINGTON President Joe Biden exudes confidence as the next race for the White House approaches.During last months State of the Union address Holyoke police officer Rafael Roca alleges there iscorruption and racism in the Holyoke Police Department. Of the remaining 34 non-minority officers in this group, 18 are in a specialized assignment. The suspended officers are listed below: Devon Bones, Holyoke Police Department Bryan Custadio, Fall River Police Department Leon Davis, Springfield Police Department Ernest Fontaine,. As of March 9, Roca has been suspended from the department due to his violation of a rule prohibiting officers from criticizing the department on social media platforms. var currentLocation = window.location; var photocredit = "'SCREENSHOT/YOUTUBE' 'Holyoke police officer Rafael Roca. . 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. With that said, I will not be commenting on the internal personnel matter that is ongoing.. Within the department, he said he had been shamed. They label you a liar, he said. Murphy said in a phone interview Monday that he felt no pressure from anyone to terminate Roca before he left office. var tag_id = document.getElementById('buylinkRocaHolyokeFiring-hg-111721,ph1'); and affiliate links. A former military police officer, Terrill has for many years researched civilian complaints against police officers in cities across the country, including a2016 study that looked at departmentsin eight different cities. 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. Roca responded saying he already appealed the decision to the Massachusetts Civil Service Commission. The work of setting up a review board is difficult and time-intensive, Terrill said. In 2016, Irving Concepcion says the Holyoke police pulled him over with their guns drawn, yanked him out of his car and slammed him down on the hood. And I think were allowing a lot of these police departments to be above it.. Last year, a judge ruled in favor of the newspaper and ordered the city to pay $5,000 in punitive damages and $100,000 in legal fees. Later that evening, however, Roca and another officer saw the fire department lieutenant drive by in his car again at high speed. var tag_id = document.getElementById('buylinkHolyokePD-hg031021,ph1'); He was also advised that he is not to respond to his own complaints while off duty., Lastly, Febo responded to Rocas claim that minority officers are not given opportunities for specialized assignments. Its not clear and it doesnt exist. More Local News to Love Start today for 50% off Expires 3/6/23. Records obtained under new Mass. law show Holyoke police dismiss nearly Mr. 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. Roca said a police captain called him about a day after he posted the video. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. The father said in his complaint that his boys had been through a lot of trauma made worse by now living in a homeless shelter, and that as a result they didnt always react to what they were told to do. The five-year Holyoke Police officer who posted the video, Rafael Roca, explained in the beginning, that he wanted to "expose the corruption and the lies and the injustice" he felt was taking place within the department. For this reason, the Holyoke Police department will have no further comment regarding Mr. Roca or his Case.. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. How do cops view themselves and their work? ", Police departments in America have a lot of unnecessary military hardware, thanks to sweetheart deals between legislators and arms dealers that allow for layers of creative financial accounting as long READ THE REST, Here's how creator Johnny Damm explains the project: Can policing be reformed? Based on the report, Police Chief David Pratt suspended Roca for five days and recommended that the citys mayor terminate him. Reyes, the HPD captain who oversees internal investigations, said in his final report that the boy had let his twin brother and another student back into the building after they were suspended a major breach of security because of shootings and gang activity in the community. var sellablestring = "GAZETTE STAFF"; In an interview with NEPM, Maldonado Velez said his critique of the police department is not about individual officers but rather the system of policing. At issue in Rocas case was whether he disobeyed a legal order from a superior, brought the Holyoke Police Department into disrepute with his statements, violated policy by posting to social media without permission from the police chief, and made public criticism that was defamatory. Roca said he has already appealed that decision to the states Civil Service Commission. Mass. police reform commission suspends 15 officers 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. HOLYOKE A Holyoke police officer said he has been suspended after posting a lengthy video online alleging widespread corruption and racism within the police department. Iowa Police Chief arrested after selling black market military machine guns, "I'm a Cop" is a classic horror comic using real-life quotes from police departments, Transform your ideas into unique art with this CES-featured, AI art tool, now on sale for $49.99, Safely organize your devices and chargers with the CES-featured Bento Stack Charge 8000, Start your musical journey with the Populele Smart Ukulele, now only $159.99, Terms Bryan Custadio, Fall River Police Department. if (photocredit.indexOf(sellablestring) > -1 || photocredit.indexOf(sellablestring2) > -1 || photocredit.indexOf(sellablestring3) > -1 || photocredit.indexOf(sellablestring4) > -1) { Our forum rules are detailed in the Community Guidelines. v. Civil Service . A second, by the Firearm Review Board, lists Roca as exonerated.. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, told NEPM that she filed the complaint because she wanted to push back against her constituents dominant perception: that there was no point in filing a complaint against the HPD. In a legal opinion sent to Murphy, which Roca provided to the Gazette, Assistant City Solicitor Kathleen Degnan said that Rocas public statements were not protected by the First Amendment, and therefore the police chiefs order for him to remove the video was lawful. Angela Davis en LinkedIn: Two Black Minnesota police chiefs on what In another case filed in 2018, a city resident wrote on their complaint form: It shouldnt take over an hour to get this paperwork to file a complaint., In 2017, former Holyoke resident Janette Hernandez Pagan sued the city, claiming HPD officers beat her 12-year-old son unconscious in 2014. He went on to say that he felt as though he would either be fired or suspended for posting the 45-minute long video. The rollout hasnot been smooth, with commissioners sparring overinternal rulesandavailable resources. You can try, records from the Northampton Police Department, Amherst Police Department investigated 16 civilian complaints, Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission, Holyoke police officer publicly alleged corruption, some characterized as excessive overtime, online, like the POST Commission now allows on its website, blocked from reviewing the police department's internal report. As part. The suspected shooter is in custody. Skilled in Microsoft Word, Police Procedures, Defensive Tactics, Emergency Management, Law Enforcement, Conflict Resolution and Public Speaking.