Boston’s City Council approved a compromise measure to create a new office to investigate and monitor Boston Police affairs.
It its final session of the year, the council Wednesday passed an ordinance establishing the Office of Police Accountability and Transparency, or OPAT by a vote of 12 to 1.
Dorchester councilor Frank Baker was the lone “no” vote.
The measure reconciles two different proposals for strong civilian oversight of police – one filed by councilors Ricardo Arroyo, Andrea Campbell and Julia Mejia in July, another put forward by Mayor Marty Walsh and his police reform panel via executive order last month.
The new, three-pronged office would include an administrative arm; an investigatory arm to review Boston Police Department internal affairs cases; and a civilian review board which would review civilian complaints against the department.
Mayor Walsh did not indicate whether he intends to sign the ordinance, but many on the council praised it as a long overdue step for Boston.
“Passing this ordinance would be a win for the city, a major step towards eliminating racial disparities in policing while creating greater transparency, accountability and justice in our system,” said councilor Andrea Campbell.
Campbell, a 2021 mayoral candidate, has for three years been pushing for a stronger civilian review board -- to no effect until Boston and the nation was rocked by protests in the wake of the police killing in May of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
The council attempted to put more teeth into Walsh's proposal, by mandating that the police commissioner be bound by the findings of the new civilian review board.
The council, in the end, backed away from that position.
“My concern on this is this [ordinance] passes and it doesn’t get signed [by the mayor] and we’re right back here again in January,” said Counselor Michael Flaherty who was concerned about preserving the autonomy of the commissioner.
Under the provisions of the council's proposed measure, the police commissioner, should he reject a finding of the civilian review board, would have to explain to the board why he rejected its recommendation.
In a statement to GBH News Wednesday evening, Mayor Walsh referred back to the executive orders he filed under the advisement of the police reform task force and vowed to assess the ordinance in consultation with members of the panel.
“Our city is stronger and better because of their work and advocacy," the statement said, "and we look forward to reviewing the language passed by the City Council today to ensure it aligns as closely as possible to their recommendations and the original ordinance we put forward this fall.”
