Several Worcester city leaders on Tuesday expressed satisfaction with the police department’s response to a federal investigation that revealed officer misconduct that violates people’s constitutional rights. That’s even as residents called for more reforms to ensure police accountability.
Tuesday’s City Council meeting was devoted solely to discussing how the city should move forward after the Department of Justice found officers use excessive force and engage in inappropriate sexual conduct. Councilors listened to Police Chief Paul Saucier discuss several recent changes to practices involving training, use of police dogs and prostitution sting operations.
“It’s important to show the commitment from you and the department about reform, transparency and accountability,” Mayor Joseph Petty told Saucier. “No police department is perfect. I think we have a really good police department to respond to this community.”
The Department of Justice spent over two years investigating Worcester police. In December, DOJ officials released their final 43-page report concluding that police engage in “outrageous” government conduct by allowing officers to have sexual conduct with prostitutes while working undercover. Investigators said there was even credible evidence that some officers sexually assaulted women under threat of arrest.
The DOJ also determined that officers violate people’s constitutional rights by escalating minor incidents with unnecessary force, including deploying tasers, using police dogs to bite people and striking subjects in the head. Police enforcement also disproportionately targets Black and Latino people, the report said.
During the public comment period of Tuesday’s meeting, residents said the DOJ’s findings highlighted long-standing problems that Worcester leaders have ignored. The speakers said the community doesn’t trust the police department and called for the city to create a civilian review board to provide more oversight of the agency.
“This disgusting culture has to change. Many of these officers have no empathy, no compassion, no civility for the public,” said William Gardiner, a former Worcester officer.
Kerry Kelly added that “one bad apple spoils the whole bunch.”
“Not everybody’s bad, but we do have some bad ones,” she said. “This needs to stop. Everything needs to be reviewed with a fine-toothed comb.”
Saucier argued that some of the DOJ’s claims were inaccurate. For example, he recalled an incident at a Walmart in which police apprehended someone accused of shoplifting over $700 worth of items. The DOJ report said an officer unnecessarily punched the suspect in the face and midsection. But Saucier said use of force was warranted because the suspect resisted arrest by head-butting and kicking the officer.
Still, Saucier — who was recently promoted from interim police chief — stressed that he’s taking the DOJ’s findings seriously and wants to restore trust in the department. Among the changes he outlined, officers’ training regimens will include 40 hours of crisis intervention instruction, and a retired FBI agent will lead lessons on excessive force and obstruction of justice.
There will also be random reviews of body camera footage to ensure everyone is complying with department policies. Officers will no longer be allowed to use dogs at mass gatherings or invite people into their cars when conducting undercover operations.
“I don’t want to ever have another female get in an officer’s car and put that officer in that position that they’re being accused of anything,” Saucier said.
Councilor Etel Haxhiaj said she appreciated the changes to department policies but noted that the community has been calling for years for the creation of a civilian review board that can oversee police and subpoena officers. Other councilors, including Kate Toomey and George Russell, suggested that such a body may not be necessary.
City Manager Eric Batista said he’s asked the independent Worcester Regional Research Bureau to produce a report on civilian review boards that can help city leaders determine whether they should create their own. Batista told councilors the research bureau is expected to have the report ready later in the spring.
“My goal is for harmony to exist between the Worcester Police Department and the public that it serves and for all of those who choose Worcester to have a sense of safety and also a sense of belonging,” Batista said.
