In the months since the Department of Justice released its report on the conduct of the Springfield Police Department and days since Gov. Charlie Baker signed into law new statewide police reform on Dec. 31, questions have been raised by various groups and city officials over what reforms have been implemented in the department.
“It’s a lot of ‘Hey, look over there’ and ‘Hey, there’s nothing to see here,’” Pioneer Valley Project Director Tara Parrish told MassLive. “I mean, it’s funny because you could literally see it in the September Forum.”
On Sept. 17, Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, Springfield Police Commissioner Cheryl Clapprood and City Solicitor Ed Pikula held a press conference at City Hall to update the public on the progress of reforms. The mayor also thanked former Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Roderick L. Ireland, who was hired to act as special counsel, for the “wisdom, advice and direction” he gave.
“Ireland literally said again, it’s not window-dressing,” said Parrish. “It’s like, why are you saying that a second time and you still haven’t spoken to the community about its concerns?”
City officials feel differently and have repeatedly expressed the insight that Ireland has been able to bring to the mayor’s office.
“[His counsel] will also pay dividends with relation to the important legal matters involved,” Pikula said in August. “More specifically, Judge Ireland’s long and distinguished career experience, together with his Springfield upbringing, make him uniquely qualified to share expertise with the Law Department as we work with the mayor and cabinet addressing the needs of litigation both pending and prospective.”
Springfield activist and founder of Real Recognize Fake Tiffany Allecia told MassLive that the lack of transparency on the reforms the police department has implemented as a result of the DOJ report and reform bill is still an issue for many in the Springfield community.
In November, Parrish and Bishop Talbert W. Swan, president of the Greater Springfield NAACP made a records request for updates on changes made to the policies, protocols and directives that were referenced by Sarno and Clapprood during a press conference on Sept. 17.
On Wednesday, Clapprood, Capt. Brian Keenan who is head of the Supervisor’s Association and Officer Joseph Gentile, head of the patrolman’s union, met with reporters and editors of MassLive and The Republican to discuss police reform and its impact on the city.
Clapprood highlighted confusion over the changes that are being asked of her department by the DOJ and police reform bill.
The bill, which was signed into law by Gov. Charlie Baker on Dec. 31, creates a Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission (POST), a civilian-led oversight board that certifies officers and can decertify those facing misconduct complaints and other violations. The legislation also bans racial profiling, chokeholds, tear gas on large demonstrations and most no-knock warrants where a child or a person over age 65 is home unless that child or older person is at risk.
Tiffany Allecia, in an act of protest, sat outside the Springfield Police Headquarters on Pearl Street reading the 29 page Department of Justice report. She read for 20 hours straight until her voice gave out. (Douglas Hook / MassLive)
The U.S. Justice Department investigated multiple accusations of police misconduct in the narcotics bureau stating in the report that officers routinely punch suspects in the head or neck impulsively and as a form of control rather than to stop a threat.
The report concluded that four main issues needed to be addressed in the department:
- Enhance force reporting and review procedures.
- Adopt new use-of-force training.
- Review and revise internal investigation unit policies and training.
- Increase accountability mechanisms.
“I’ve said many times that being a police officer is the toughest job in America. We owe these public servants our respect and our support,” said Attorney General William P. Barr the day the report was published. “But with this high calling comes a tremendous responsibility to uphold the public trust. The Department of Justice is committed to supporting our law enforcement while holding departments accountable that violate this sacred trust.”
The DOJ stated that during their investigation they went through 100,000 pages of written policies and procedures, training materials, and internal reports, data, video footage, and investigative files. Attorneys and investigators from the DOJ also conducted interviews with officers, supervisors and Springfield police command staff. In addition, they met with city officials and met with community members and local advocates.
“I find myself in a very strange place where I don’t know which one takes precedence, which way do we go with this,” Clapprood said on Wednesday. “The reform bill is out there, but it’s not finalized. I really don’t know what the use-of-force [policy] is going to be.”
The DOJ added that the department had already begun to implement some remedial measures before the report was published.
As part of the DOJ mandate, Clapprood said she reviewed and revised the Internal Investigations Unit training and relocated the unit to a new building at the former Smith & Wesson Shooting Sports Center that is also the shooting range.
The city opened the range late in 2020, at 229 Page St. located in the city’s eastern neighborhood. It is under a 20-year, $16 million lease that was opposed by the city council. Previously the IIU was in a rented building on Maple Street. Its relocation creates savings estimated at $150,000 a year, city officials said.
“As demonstrated by recent events, it is crucial that our urban police departments keep the trust of their communities and ensure accountability for officer misconduct,” said United State Attorney Andrew E. Lelling. “Our investigation of the Springfield Police Department over the last year revealed chronic issues with the use of force, poor record-keeping on that subject, and repeated failures to impose discipline for officer misconduct.”
On July 1, officers started to wear body-worn cameras on patrols. In December, during a two-hour forum designed to update residents on the changes being implemented at the Police Department, Clapprood commented that “accountability has increased enormously mostly due to the body-worn camera program.”
She went on to say that the DOJ report and Massachusetts Police Training Council (MPTC) both have guidelines that contradict the bill and she has a difficult time knowing which one should be the priority. As a result, few changes have been made since the DOJ report came out on July 8 that hadn’t been implemented before the report.
“You don’t need to wait for the governor’s bill to tell you to change the way that you do training on de-escalation,” said Parrish. “You don’t need to wait for that.”
Parrish, who runs the social justice group Pioneer Valley Project, gave an example of a school district that is mandated to train teachers on how to effectively interact with students. She questioned what possible harm could it do if the police receive extra direction on how to interact with citizens of the city.
“You don’t need to wait for some high entity to do that,” Parrish added.
The department has submitted its use-of-force training to the DOJ and is in regular talks on how to proceed.
“I’m moving forward with common-sense changes,” said Clapprood. “Reforms I knew had to be made before either one of these pieces of legislation came out. Before the DOJ [report] came out. I knew we had to be more accountable here. I knew we needed a new [records management] system. I knew we needed better training and transparency. I knew the body-worn camera program would help me as far as excessive force complaints. So, I’m just going to stay on the course until somebody says this is the way you have to go.”
Clapprood told MassLive that the DOJ has been kept up to date on the issue of use-of-force training. She argues that she can’t go “off the grid” by training recruits on new practices and potentially lose certification.
“We talked to the MPTC Director Robert Ferullo, and he said if an instructor teaches something different than that of which the MPTC is going to train, we will be decertified here. I won’t have any cops. I won’t have any instructors,” Clapprood stated. “I have to train as they tell me to train and it’s one thing for the DOJ to tell me to adopt a new use-of-force training, it’s another to pass certification and to have a police department that strains the way the reform bill and the way the MPTC wants me to.”
Tara Parrish, director and lead organizer of the Pioneer Valley Project. (Douglas Hook / MassLive)
Although there was no consent decree or mandate to follow procedures set out in the DOJ report, the police commissioner has regular conversations with DOJ officials to express her concerns over the contradictions to the new state law.
“Mainly it involves the level of force used and how they characterize those different levels. The DOJ is talking about three levels of force and the MPTC currently has five levels of force,” said Clapprood. “I’m assuming they’re going to go with five levels of force for the December decision.”
Most law enforcement agencies have policies that guide the use of force. The National Institute of Justice has an example of a five-level use-of-force continuum:
- Officer Presence: No force is used. Considered the best way to resolve a situation.
- Verbalization: Force is not-physical.
- Empty-Hand Control: Officers use bodily force to gain control of a situation.
- Less-Lethal Methods: Officers use less-lethal technologies to gain control of a situation.
- Lethal Force: Officers use lethal weapons to gain control of a situation. Should only be used if a suspect poses a serious threat to the officer or another individual.
The National Institute of Justice is the research, development and evaluation agency of the DOJ.
Clapprood is being told that there could be two rules as she understands it, one for Springfield, where the department could have the three use-of-force policy, and the state.
“And then MPTC responds, ‘then I will decertify you,’” Clapprood explained.
A spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office confirmed to MassLive that they are in negotiations with the police department about the reforms and “Constitutional violations” laid out in the report. She went on to state that the Attorney’s Office is aware of the concerns Clapprood has and is looking to address any conflict.
“We look forward to the continued cooperative and confidential negotiations with the city of Springfield,” the spokeswoman concluded.
The situation seems confusing, not least to the commissioner. She told MassLive that she is trying to appease both the DOJ and abide by the law of the state and first needs clarity on what the training will look like once the changes have been implemented with the state training committee.
“Are they going to slap us with a lawsuit or they going to slap us with a consent decree or a monitor because I can’t follow what they want? Clapprood questioned. “I don’t know.”
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