Boston city councilors condemn Northeastern plan to equip officers with semiautomatic rifles
Two Boston city councilors have condemned plans by Northeastern University Campus Police to equip officers with semiautomatic rifles.
“Assault rifles are the last thing we need in NUPD patrol cars,’’ Tito Jackson and Josh Zakim wrote in a letter Thursday to Northeastern University President Joseph Aoun. The university’s campus falls within both of the councilors’ districts.
Northeastern’s plan, developed in response to increased concerns about mass shootings on college campuses, was made despite concerns and opposition from Boston police.
Jackson and Zakim called the plan a “step backwards for community policing,’’ expressing concern that it would encourage fear and mistrust between the students and community members who come in contact with the campus police.
Of particular concern to the elected officials was the rejection of input from Boston police. They wrote:
Commissioner [William] Evans and BPD are at the forefront of progressive community policing in our country – for NUPD to ignore their input is misguided. Boston has the best police department in the country in large part because Commissioner Evans has led us away from militarized policing. NUPD has chosen to ignore the experts and to deploy tactical weapons in our communities.
Jackson and Zakim said the university failed to engage elected officials and the community before making the decision. The councilors said their constituents deserve to be heard and called on the university to conduct outreach within the campus community and the communities in Roxbury and Mission Hill on the issue.
If the university fails to do so, Jackson and Zakim said they will call for City Council hearings on the plan.
The campus policy is expected to rollout in mid-December.
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