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Whos policing the police? he asked. He was deployed to Bosnia from 2003-2004 where he worked with anti-corruption and security forces. In other words, having the power to question the suspect, having the power to question the officer.. During the debate, City Councilor Jos Maldonado Velez referred to the police as a gang., It literally is, he said in the meeting. When presented with NEPMs findings, Maldonado Velez said the lack of discipline resulting from civilian complaints is just not surprising and not unique to Holyoke. He said that Febo and others have stepped in to prevent him from getting jobs with other police departments. Holyoke Police Department Friday: 03/25/2022 Juvenile (16) from Springfield is charged with: Possession of Class A Possession of Class A to Distribute Possession of Ammunition without a FID. }. On December 24, 2015 and January 25, 2016, HRD, at the request of the City, sent And in Amherst, records show that during a 12-year period, theAmherst Police Department investigated 16 civilian complaints; in only one of those cases did an officer face discipline. Matthew Moriarty, who handles communications for the department, all failed to answer numerous email and phone messages. In response to a public records request, the HPD has now turned over the 69 investigations it conducted from 2010 through 2019 into civilian complaints. I stand behind the video and what I said in it. Schedule a Free Consultation Fill out your information below: Law Offices of Allyn & Ball, P.C. Yeah they didnt waste any time. 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. 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. HOLYOKE, Mass One person was killed during a shooting at the Holyoke Mall Saturday night, according to the Hampden County District Attorney's office. HOLYOKE Last week, the citys acting mayor fired a police officer who earlier this year posted a viral video on social media alleging corruption and racism within the Holyoke Police Department. He said that currently, there were 46 total patrolmen with eight years or more of full-time experience on the job., Out of those 46, 12 are minority officers. Febo said a detectives vehicle was broken into and taken from that vehicle was 2 ballistic vests with 2 magazines in the pouches, along with some K9 gear, and a first aid bag. Some, but not all, of those items were later found in a vehicle stolen from Granby that was recovered in Hartford, according to Febo. They label you a liar, he said. 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. var photocredit = "'SCREENSHOT/YOUTUBE' 'Holyoke police officer Rafael Roca. 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. var photocredit = photocredit.toUpperCase(); 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. 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. 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. One is a female who is being trained to investigate sensitive crimes involving children, females and domestic violence. Manuel Febo, a Holyoke native who grew up in the. Roca had been with the department since 2015. Whether its now or later, well see.. 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. Pratt said that Roca can still present his case to the Civil Service Commission. In fact, a year later, Valentin filed a civilian complaint against an HPD officer over his rudeness to her at the scene of a car crash involving her wife treatment Valentin alleged was related to her political stances. Last August, Holyoke Mayor Joshua Garcia hired the New. 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('buylinkRocaHolyokeFiring-hg-111721,ph2'); Rafael Roca, 37,. 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. The suspected shooter is in custody. The work of setting up a review board is difficult and time-intensive, Terrill said. Its not clear and it doesnt exist. Febo also issued a statement on the matter, and said while he would not be commenting on the internal personnel matter that is ongoing, he did take the opportunity to address some of the allegations and give facts., Febo said with regard to the allegation that the department covered up stolen and/or lost rifles, the incident in question took place 10 years ago and was fully investigated by [the] previous chief, discipline meted out, and every step was reported publicly at that time., Additionally Febo referenced the claim regarding a detective that had his vehicle and weapon stolen, which was covered up. They took my gun and my badge and kicked me out of the email system, Roca said during an interview at the time. In March, Roca was placed on suspension after his video, which has over 56,000 views, accused officers of false overtime pay, protecting each other from punishment after misconduct and creating a culture of racism and favoritism, especially with promotions. 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. And cities where complaints of police misconduct are rarely ruled in favor of civilians could benefit from creating an oversight structure to independently investigate these complaints. var currentLocation = window.location; I stand behind the video and what I said in it.. Roca said he retired from the U.S. Marines after a lengthy career in 2016 and pursued his lifelong dream of being a police officer. var currentheadline = document.getElementById("headline").innerText; I am a Latino. HOLYOKE, Mass. var tag_id = document.getElementById('buylinkRocaHolyokeFiring-hg-111721,ph1'); It was originally published by New England Public Media. Roca said the straw that broke the camels back and resulted in him posting the video was a call from a coworker he received the day the video was posted, March 7. Citizens in Holyoke, Colorado should be aware of illegal activities surrounding police brutality among their police departments and take actions against them. 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. Others, he added, have managed to escape from serious instances of misconduct without any disciplinary action. But some will be missing, Mass. 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 . Carla Sinclair 11:00 am Tue Mar 9, 2021. The reality is my community policing cops got a tip and they followed up on it, Neiswanger told The Republican at the time. Graduated from 36th Massachusetts Police Officer . N/A civilian complaints of police misconduct. 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. Read the rules you agree to by using this website in our Terms And often, legal protections and collective bargaining agreements with police unions prevent those boards from interviewing officers, he added. 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.. Pictured above: thumbnail of the Youtube video posted by Holyoke police officer Rafael Roca. We dont have that today.. 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.. Lorna McMurrey, 27, was filling . Thats according to William Terrill, a professor at Arizona State University's School of Criminology and Criminal Justice. I speak to citizens, I speak to former police officers, retired police officers and they all say corruption and racism has taken place within this department for as long as anyone can remember., In an interview with the Gazette, Roca said that after posting the video which had more than 27,000 views days after it was posted a police department captain called him to say that Police Chief Manny Febo was ordering him to remove the video. They want to send a message to other officers: Dont be like Roca, because this is exactly whats going to happen to you., Febo said in a statement released Tuesday that it is not standard practice for police departments to comment on issues that have an ongoing personnel investigation for violations of policy. One officer was accused of using his siren at a drive-thru window to get his ice cream more quickly. 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. }. Last fall, five of the remaining six members of the board quit after they wereblocked from reviewing the police department's internal reporton the police killing of city resident Miguel Estrella. In his video, Roca references alleged abuse of overtime pay. I wasnt looking for them to be on my side, but youd think if somebody was making allegations about their city they may have questions themselves.. The comments are concerning, erroneous, harmful, but most importantly divisive, Capt.