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DOJ hears from community after scathing Worcester police report
Hundreds of community members attended, and the meeting at the YWCA was standing-room-only.
At a Worcester community meeting Wednesday night, Department of Justice officials addressed the police department’s alleged civil rights violations and potential remedies, according to multiple reports.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division hosted a community meeting at the YWCA Central Massachusetts on Salem Street. Hundreds of community members attended, and the meeting was standing-room-only, according to The Boston Globe and the Telegram & Gazette.
The two-year federal investigation into the department detailed multiple alleged violations. Some officers allegedly had sex while on the clock with women suspected of being sex workers, inappropriately engaged with suspected sex workers while undercover, and sexually assaulted women by demanding sex acts in exchange for police assistance, the DOJ said.
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The investigation also found that officers allowed their dogs to bite, including when people being detained are already under control, and they also unreasonably tased people.
The DOJ also said that Hispanic and Black adults and youth were more likely to face a traffic stop ending with an arrest, written warning, citation, or criminal complaint. Those groups were more likely to be arrested or treated with excessive force.
“This does not mean that every officer in Worcester violated the law,” Megan Marks, deputy chief of the DOJ Civil Rights Division’s Special Litigation Section, at the meeting, according to the Globe. “That said, we did issue this report because the patterns or practices we found are serious and result in real harm.”
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The newspaper reported that the crowd was split into three groups, and residents voiced their outrage for sexual assaults going uninvestigated, priorities for de-escalation trainings, and overall skepticism about any change in the department’s culture.
At Worcester City Council Tuesday night, dozens of residents brought up their concerns with the investigation. Thomas Duffy, president of the Worcester police patrolmen’s union, said the report had hardly any factual information.
“This sham of a so-called investigation is a new low point,” Duffy told the council. “It’s disgraceful and insulting to the great men and women that I’m privileged to represent.”
The DOJ listed multiple recommendations within the report, including new and revised policies, training, and supervision practices. At the meeting, prosecutors said they could refer criminal cases but declined to comment, the Globe reported.
Worcester City Manager Eric Batista said in a statement earlier this month that many of the recommendations in the report have either been implemented or are in progress. He also plans to present a Civilian Review Board.
“In the meantime, the members of the Worcester Police Department, who overwhelmingly serve our community with integrity and compassion, will continue their ongoing community outreach to build relationships and trust while continuing to refine and improve Department policies,” his statement read at the time.
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The city also announced a hotline at 774-548-1696 for members of the public can report any discrimination, bias, harassment, or excessive force to the city’s Executive Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
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