Acting Mayor Kim Janey on Thursday released the much-anticipated report on disgraced former cop Patrick Rose, who remained on the force for two decades despite a criminal complaint and subsequent internal investigation in the 1990s into credible allegations that he had sexually assaulted a child. The report, however, focuses on general policy changes that are needed, rather than specific decisions made by key individuals — no officers besides Rose are named. In for Jim Braude on Greater Boston, Adam Reilly was joined by Yawu Miller, senior editor of the Bay State Banner, and Saraya Wintersmith, who covers Boston City Hall for GBH News.
“I would have expected to see more in this report. However, the broad strokes of it are — the police department, the commissioner, the mayor — there’s a level of complicity that stems from their failure to embrace the recommendations of the St. Clair commissioned report,” Miller said. “More broadly, there was a mindset that police did not have to be held accountable in the same way we hold other public officials accountable. “
The St. Clair report from 1992 came in the wake of a man who had blamed a Black man for killing his wife, and highlighted civil rights violations of the Boston Police Department. The report said that the BPD needed an independent civilian review board, moving away from the practice of BPD’s internal affairs department conducting its own investigations.
Wintersmith noted that this all comes with the backdrop of the 2021 Boston mayoral race, leading Janey to be more cautious. “With the mayoral race kind of looming over everything that’s happening right now, and Janey being a person who’s campaigning for a full term — she’s in a bit of a tricky place.” She said Janey’s “intentional and careful” move to not name names showed she didn’t want to alienate some of the political figures around her.
WATCH: Much-anticipated Patrick Rose report calls for changes but doesn’t name names
