Rocas video has reached over 50,000 views. Thats according to William Terrill, a professor at Arizona State University's School of Criminology and Criminal Justice. 2021 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.. if (photocredit.indexOf(sellablestring) > -1 || photocredit.indexOf(sellablestring2) > -1 || photocredit.indexOf(sellablestring3) > -1 || photocredit.indexOf(sellablestring4) > -1) { Last August, Holyoke Mayor Joshua Garcia hired the New. The stolen vehicle was later recovered in Hartford, CT and one of the vests and some K9 gear was recovered. Later that evening, however, Roca and another officer saw the fire department lieutenant drive by in his car again at high speed. Reyes ultimately exonerated Romero. This followed years of battles between the mayor and City Council over control of the department and the effectiveness of a previous advisory panel, the Civilian Community Police Hearing Board. More Local News to Love Start today for 50% off Expires 3/6/23, Holyoke Police Officer Rafael Roca suspended after posting viral video alleging corruption at the department, Because of this video I will probably be fired: Holyoke officer alleges police corruption in viral video, Holyokes fiscal future appears bright as Joshua Garcia enters office. Coughlin has been living large on his State Police pension of $131,961 a year. HOLYOKE A Holyoke police officer recently released a YouTube video accusing the Holyoke Police Department of corruption. Notes. 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. In other words, having the power to question the suspect, having the power to question the officer.. He noted that he was terminated in the final days of Murphys tenure as acting mayor. "Holyoke has always been known as the Paper City. It took the HPD more than a year and a half to turn over its 69 internal investigations, all of which the department redacted to remove information about the person alleging misconduct. He went on to say that he had tried to sue, tried speaking with the supervisors, Ive tried my union, Ive tried it all. Roca said he hoped that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Attorney General, along with the FBI, would open an investigation into the department. So Romero arrested him for assault and battery on a police officer. Roca said a police captain called him about a day after he posted the video. Manuel Febo, a Holyoke native who grew up in the. Now, he said, one of his sons was on pain medication because of the force Romero used to arrest him. Murphy didnt have to answer to anybody. Play all audios: Loading. list of candidates for Holyoke police officer. On March 7, Holyoke police officer Rafael Roca posted a video on YouTube alleging racism and corruption by the Holyoke Police Department. The report, which Roca shared with the Gazette, was completed on July 2. of Read the rules you agree to by using this website in our Terms In 2017, for example, a civilian accused Holyoke police officer Patrick Leahy of putting him through hell for almost a year.. Roca, however, claimed that somebody stole the gun from Harts house during a party. Yeah, they didnt waste any time. 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. Prosecutors pressed charges against him until the day he showed up for his trial, when he said they informed him they were dropping the case. 'Holyoke police officer Rafael Roca alleges there iscorruption and racism in the Holyoke Police Department. ", He calls out corrupt officers, including the "corrupt police chief, and he is out to get me" He also talks about the "vast misrepresentation when it comes to minority police officers. Project Advances, What Happened to the Money?' Roca said that the department is rife with racism. Rafael Roca, 37,. ", He calls outgoing Police Chief Manny Febo "corrupt," contending minorities are routinely passed over for upper-tier assignments and disciplined at higher rates. var currentLocation = window.location; I did exactly what I was trained and paid to do but people on my watch had a problem with that because they like to sleep in their cruisers overnight; they dont want to work.. His video, posted Sunday, has been viewed 27,000 times. 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. Hed be gone by then.. Rafael Roca, 37, uploaded the now viral video early Sunday morning. var currentLocation = window.location; Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. 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. Not a single person from City Hall or city government reached out at all, he 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. //var LBtag_id = document.getElementById('buylinkLBRocaHolyokeFiring-hg-111721,ph1'); In one 2013 complaint, for example, a civilian alleged they watched police officer Charles Monfett pull up next to his brother in his police cruiser and hand him a bag of pot., We also overheard how it was just recovered from someone at Jones Point, the complaint alleges. 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. He alleged that later, somebody who had been arrested tipped police off to the rifles location in an effort to receive leniency in court. 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. March 9, 2021. Speaking to the Gazette, he alleged he has worked on grant-funded shifts during which supervisors who were supposed to be working were nowhere to be found the entire shift.. Murphy said that neither the district attorneys office nor the attorney generals office ever spoke to him about any investigation of Rocas allegations. 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. It goes back as long as anyone can remember, he said in the video. Alex Benjamin Morse (born January 29, 1989) is an American politician who served as the 44th mayor of Holyoke, Massachusetts from 2012 to 2021. He saidthat ultimately there was sufficient cause to terminate Roca. I stand behind the video and what I said in it.. 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. Nine of those 12 are in specialized assignments other than patrol operations. He said minority candidates get passed over for top positions, as detectives or supervisors. There was no set up.. Concepcion said his experience with the HPDs internal affairs system shows that there isnt any accountability within the department. In an interview last week, Garcia said he planned to follow through with an assessment of the police department, later adding: This is not an investigation, its an assessment.. The Gazettes coverage of the incident notes that officers attempted to subdue Guyette with a stun gun as he rammed into cars attempting to escape. The mayors office said it expects the report to be completed in the coming days. //LBtag_id.innerHTML = ''; When you speak up and when you expose corruption, thats what they do. The youths, Reyes report alleged, were Blood gang members who were under surveillance for their possible involvement in a shooting involving a school bus on the previous day. He said the cars possibly armed occupants made furtive movements and refused to show their hands, and that the officers on scene denied making the remarks Concepcion alleged. 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. NEPM also obtained a handwritten log tracking all 156 investigations of its own officers the department conducted during those 10 years, including those initiated not by civilian complaints but by superior officers. One of our detectives who is assigned to a task force had his task force vehicle broken into, he said. designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated In one 2011 complaint, a civilian alleged that during a traffic stop that involved Officer Jared Hamel, police held a gun to the civilian's head and knocked him unconscious, after which officers stomped on his face and dislocated his jaw. Some complaints involve allegations that police officers broke the law. He wrote that because the boy refused several times to place his hand behind his back so that he could be handcuffed, Officer Romero was forced to place him on the ground.. Matthew Moriarty, who handles communications for the department, all failed to answer numerous email and phone messages. and affiliate links. Febo, who plans to retire in July, said he has nothing to hide. Have you ever had a vision 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. And he said that when he would leave the station during those three weeks, police would pull his car over. Tensions soared last fall between some Holyoke residents and the HPD amid a debate in the City Council over the departments desire to purchase the controversial gunfire-location technology ShotSpotter. Listen Roca also suggests the state attorney general or the FBI should look into his claims against Febo and the department. OSHA, cannabis company reach $14k settlement in Holyoke worker's death . Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (each updated 1/26/2023). 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. (WWLP) - The Holyoke Fire Department was sent to Hampshire and Maple Streets for a car accident on Friday. It varies, obviously, from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and time to time, but generally the studies have found that the sustained rate, if you sum them all up, is usually about 10%, Terrill said. The handwritten log, which tracks civilian and internal complaints against officers and their conclusions, features two entries for Roca. He was suspended for violating the departments social media policy, which prohibits officers from criticizing the department on social media platforms. He has since been suspended for refusing to take the video down. 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. 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. They would just tell me to just stop doing what I was doing, its not going to go nowhere, its only going to cause me more hardships and problems, Concepcion said. Read about what we do with the data we gather in our Privacy Policy. But critics have described that body as toothless. He expressed frustration that former Mayor Alex Morse did not do enough to address issues of racism during his tenure. They put him in handcuffs at his home, but Monsalve ultimately decided to place the driver in protective custody instead of arresting him, declining to give the driver a breathalyzer, according to testimony included in the commissions decision. Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. v. Civil Service . 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. Holyoke Police Department killed 1 person from 2013-21. According to Roca, supervisors in the department have lied on the stand. That transparency has been slow to arrive, however. In 2014, the president of the patrol-officer union wrote a scathing letter to the City Council denouncing Councilors Rebecca Lisi and Jossie Valentin for marching in a Black Lives Matter protest where he said some protesters used anti-police rhetoric., Since that moment, it was very evident to me that some members of the Holyoke Police Department were not happy with me and with Rebecca, Valentin told NEPM in an interview from Puerto Rico, where she now lives. Suspected. In his video, Roca references alleged abuse of overtime pay. School Holyoke Community College; Course Title ENGLISH 1301; Type. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Roca said in his report that the driver attempted to back into a state trooper, at which point he fired his gun three times at the driver. Carla Sinclair 11:00 am Tue Mar 9, 2021. I find that the amount of force used was reasonably necessary under the circumstances, the internal investigation concluded, noting that fellow officers described Hamels initial interaction with the man as peaceful, calm and cooperative.. Holyoke officer alleges corruption within, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Holyoke police officer alleges corruption within department, Many ambulances roll for excessive drinking at UMass Amhersts Blarney Blowout, Vermont bishop testifies against clergy reporting bill, All about eagle nest cameras in Massachusetts, Massachusetts charity helps save thousands of animals in need in war-torn Ukraine, 'Significant burst' of heavy snow possible for areas of Massachusetts, up to 12 inches potential in spots, Alex Murdaugh killed wife, son to buy time, prosecutor says, Boston employee payroll data shows more big-money employees than ever. Officers have. The reality is my community policing cops got a tip and they followed up on it, Neiswanger told The Republican at the time. In 1894 the New York State Senate launched the first comprehensive investigation of corruption in the NYPD. Amid Pandemic, Boston Loses Title as Country's Worst City for Traffic, Biden Hopes to Boost Offshore Wind as Mass. Roca said he also plans to file a lawsuit over his treatment. 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. 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. "Yeah, they didn't waste any time. Its not clear and it doesnt exist. In the video, Roca also alleged that department leadership has covered up the facts surrounding several instances when weapons have gone missing from the department. In his own time, he said that he witnessed classmates incarcerated as part of the school-to-prison pipeline.. Internal affairs is corrupt as can be, Roca said in his video. The driver, who officers alleged smelled of alcohol and had slurred speech, turned out to be a lieutenant with the Holyoke Fire Department. When you are someone who speaks up about injustice and about corrupt police officers, they label you as a liar, they label you as a dirty police officer, they label you as someone who is untrustworthy, he said. Whether its now or later, well see.. Leon Davis, Springfield Police Department. var sellablestring3 = "STAFF FILE PHOTO"; 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. Boing Boing uses cookies and analytics trackers, and is supported by advertising, merchandise He also said that academics have struggled to answer the question of whether a complaint against an officer represents a problem officer, a productive officer or some combination of the two. Yeah, they didnt waste any time. One complaint for rudeness was not sustained by an investigation. Roca said he was suspended for violating the departments social media policy, which bars officers from criticizing the department on social media platforms. 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. 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. The chief did, however, address several of the allegations Roca made in the video.
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