Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said he plans to implement "a lot" of the recommendations issued this week in a draft report from the Boston Police Task Force, commissioned to recommend reforms to the Boston Police Department.
On Boston Public Radio Friday, Walsh commended the task force, which has recommended establishing a new, more powerful civilian review body with subpoena powers and the ability to independently investigate allegations of police misconduct.
"Some of the reform that's in this has to be negotiated (with the police unions,) some of it is civil service, some of it can be done just by the mayor and police commissioner. And a lot of the recommendations are going to be instituted and followed up on," he said. "What this does a little differently than some of the other recommendations that have been made, this creates an office that will not be housed in the police department, it will beon the other side in the city, and the recommendation is not to house it in city hall, which we wouldn't do that."
The recommendations now go to the public for input through September.
While local elected officials responded with cautious optimism to the recommendations, concerns remain about whether the city will be able to implement these new recommendations in a more meaningful way than in previous years.
Walsh stressed that his administration has made strides in reforming policing, including the adoption of body cameras, after a long battle with the police union.
This week, the Bay State Banner reported that of political donations from Boston police officers, Walsh has received nearly $500,000.
Walsh rejected the notion that political donations have any impact on his actions on police reform.
"If an elected official is going to vote by financial support, then they shouldn't be in office," he said.
