Worcester police have engaged in excessive use of force and “outrageous” government conduct by allowing officers to have sexual contact with women while working undercover, according to the findings of a U.S. Department of Justice investigation released Monday.
The two-year investigation involved extensive interviews with current and former officers, city employees and nearly 150 residents and local organizations, as well as reviewing police records dating back to 2017.
The DOJ reported that officers unreasonably deploy Tasers, use police dogs and strike people in the head. The report says officers “rapidly escalate” minor incidents by using more force than necessary, including during encounters with people who have behavioral health disabilities or are in crisis.
The report also described how some officers would engage in sexual conduct during undercover operations “in the name of enforcing the law.” The DOJ said that conduct served no legitimate purpose, but that because the police department does not have policies or training prohibiting this conduct, “none of the officers who admitted to engaging in sexual contact in their reports were ever disciplined for it.”
The DOJ said it warned the Worcester Police Department about officers’ sexual conduct, but that “WPD failed to establish the policies, training, and supervision needed ... instead allowing a problematic culture and unlawful conduct to continue unchecked.”
“I’m not surprised. Not at all,” said local attorney Joseph Hennessey, who’s represented people in lawsuits against Worcester police for excessive use of force. “There are many bad apples in this police department.”
A Worcester spokesperson said City Manager Eric Batista will issue a statement in the coming days.
Attorney Brian Kelly said the police department fully cooperated with the investigation and already revised some of its policies based on the DOJ’s recommendations. Still, he asserted the report is “riddled with factual inaccuracies” and said that the DOJ should have prosecuted individual officers accused of misconduct instead of painting the entire force as bad actors.
“The DOJ’s Civil Rights Division has issued an unfair, inaccurate, and biased report which unfairly smears the entire Worcester police force by claiming there is a pattern or practice by the WPD to engage in excessive use of force and sexual harassment of prostitutes,” Kelly said in a statement.
DOJ reviews into local police abuses often result in court-supervised improvement plans, known as consent decrees. That’s what happened after the Justice Department investigated Springfield’s police department. A consent decree has not yet been announced for Worcester.
The Justice Department said it will solicit feedback from Worcester residents about possible remedies to address the constitutional concerns outlined in the report. But to get started, the DOJ did offer its own recommendations.
The DOJ said Worcester should explicitly prohibit officers from engaging in sexual contact while on duty and adopt a zero-tolerance policy for sexual misconduct for officers both on- and off-duty.
To address use of force, the DOJ recommends training on de-escalation techniques, as well as improved reporting systems to ensure officers’ use of force is properly documented and reviewed.
The report also calls for increased supervision of officers, analyzing data to identify racial disparities in policing and address any disparities, and making the complaint process easier by allowing people to file complaints anonymously.
The department recognized that WPD has already implemented some reforms as the investigation was underway, including the adoption of body cameras.
“As with every complaint or allegation that it receives, the WPD will evaluate and investigate the conduct alleged in DOJ’s report in the coming weeks and months, and will implement any and all appropriate disciplinary and remedial measures,” Kelly said in a statement.
Hennessey, the local attorney, said that in order for meaningful change to occur within the ranks of the department, it must come at the direction of Batista and Worcester Mayor Joseph Petty.
“There’s got to be more accountability,” Hennessey said. “They can’t keep turning their heads.”
