Boston Mayor Michelle Wu on Thursday appointed a diverse group of members to two boards within the city's newly staffed Office of Police Accountability and Transparency, the office responsible for investigating complaints of misconduct against the Boston Police Department.
The office, referred to as OPAT, was created under former Mayor Marty Walsh at the recommendation of a police reform task force following massive protests in Boston and other cities over police brutality and the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minn.
On Thursday, Wu named nine members to OPAT's civilian review board, the arm of the office responsible for examining civilian complains of misconduct, and five members to OPAT's Internal Affairs Oversight Panel, the arm responsible for examining the department’s internal handling of misconduct accusations against officers.
"This has been a long-time coming and this has been the result of decades of advocacy from community leaders and leadership from now, three different administrations," Wu said as she introduced the new board members at a press conference at BPD headquarters in Roxbury.
The appointments, listed in full at the bottom of the article, come the same month Wu kicked off a national search for the BPD's new police commissioner by naming a small, diverse committee to lead the process. The mayor has signaled she will select a public safety leader poised to shepherd the department through a period of reform and did so again Thursday.
"With our search for a new police commissioner underway and our appointees to OPAT in place, we are ready to transform the structures of public safety and change the culture of policing in Boston," Wu said.
At the press conference, the chairmen of both OPAT panels stressed their commitment to justice and an intimate knowledge of the duality people of color often say they face: being caught between needing law enforcement to respond to crime, while feeling afraid of being unjustly profiled, or inadvertently leading to someone else being hurt by an officer.
"We're out to do justice," said retired Judge Leslie Harris, chair of the internal affairs panel. "I come from a family loaded with police officers. I've watched good police officers... but I've also been the victim of violence by police," he said, referencing a scar on his head from an encounter he had with law enforcement as a child.
"I don't want that to continue," Harris said.
Peter Alvarez, who will chair the civilian review panel, pointed to the fact the OPAT is separate from the Boston Police Department.
"I want to make sure that all Bostonians are able to have trust in the system," he said. "Impartiality, fairness, accountability and due process are the bedrock requirements of the [civilian review panel]. We'll seek to gain trust in the community, improve law enforcement community relations and enhance public safety in the process."
OPAT executive director Stephanie Everett told the new members that, while many complaints may not be easy to hear, and their actions may not satisfy the police department or the public, it's crucial that they be at peace with their decisions.
"In order to get the work done, you have to be fair and impartial to move the work forward," Everett said. "There are not so many offices that you can think of that people actually died for this place to exist — and for that, this is the work that you are going to do."
Boston’s police force has been plagued with multiple scandals in recent years, including the arrest of Patrick Rose, a former officer and union head who faces serious accusations of child abuse, a year-long investigation into allegations that an officer participated in the U.S. Capitol riots on Jan. 6, 2021 and the dismissal of former commissioner Dennis White after 20-year-old allegations of domestic violence surfaced within days of his taking office.
Wu, who is fast approaching her first 100 days as mayor, campaigned on reforming the police department.
"Every resident in every corner of every neighborhood in our city must feel safe, deserves to feel safe, to be safe in the knowledge that our police department will uphold its responsibility to serve and protect," Wu said at Thursday's press conference. "That requires building trust, which begins and ends with community."
On the Civilian Review Board:
- Peter Alvarez, a former Boston Public Schools teacher and lawyer providing pro bono education-related counsel.
- Natalie Carithers, a former Chief of Staff in the Massachusetts House of Representatives who has served in various public service and community organization positions.
- Rev. Wayne S. Daley, the Director of Youth and Community Services at the Salvation Army in Boston, who has served as a chaplain at the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department.
- Joshua Dankoff, a child welfare, juvenile justice and immigration policy advocate.
- Anne Hernandez, a social worker supporting immigrant students.
- Carrie Mays, a local organizer with the Center for Teen Empowerment and serving as the Board’s dedicated youth member.
- Amy McNamee, a criminal defense attorney who works on various violent and financial criminal cases.
- Tara Register, an advocate and organizer focused on creating youth wellness through comprehensive systems of family support.
- Chris Sumner, an advocate who has led many community organizations in Boston, including Upward Bound and The Salvation Army’s Ray & Joan Kroc Center.
On the Internal Affairs Oversight Panel:
- Judge Leslie Harris, a retired Suffolk Juvenile Court judge who has also worked as a public defender, probation officer and Chief of the Juvenile Division of the Suffolk County DA’s office.
- Allison Cartwright, Attorney in Charge at the Roxbury Defender’s Office, former member of the Police Reform Task Force and former assistant corporation counsel for the City of Boston.
- Christina Miller, a law professor at Suffolk University who also served as Chief of District Courts and Community Prosecutions with the Suffolk County DA’s Office.
- Julien Mundele, an attorney specializing in government investigations and health law practice, and a former Assistant District Attorney with the Suffolk County DA’s Office.
- Jassie-Fredcia Senwah, a victim witness advocate at the Suffolk County DA’s Office and organizer providing support to survivors of domestic violence.
