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Holyoke, MA Those who are paying attention to the ever-expanding police state in the land of the free know that the system is set up in such a way that it protects bad cops while punishing the good ones. The five-year Holyoke Police officer who posted the video, Rafael Roca, explained in the beginning, that he wanted to "expose the corruption and the lies and the injustice" he felt was taking place within the department. Uploaded By Greenpalace1. A newly released independent audit of the Holyoke Police Department finds the HPD poses a "substantial risk" to the city it serves. A former military police officer, Terrill has for many years researched civilian complaints against police officers in cities across the country, including a2016 study that looked at departmentsin eight different cities. Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. That is roughly 75% of minority officers with 8 years or more [of experience] in specialized assignments. Febos statement added, The Holyoke Police Department has a Chief, 2 Lieutenants, and 4 Sergeants who are minority in the department command staff.. On March 7, Holyoke police officer Rafael Roca posted a video on YouTube alleging racism and corruption by the Holyoke Police Department. Roca also said he wasnt surprised he was fired, but expressed disappointment that no city, state or federal officials fully investigated his allegations, according to the Gazette. Position Type:Staff Full-time. Cannabis company Trulieve will pay $14,502 after reaching a settlement with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration over the death of an employee who worked at Trulieve's Holyoke cultivation site. What I can say is that I have full confidence in the integrity and professionalism of the Chief of Police and the men and women that make up the Holyoke Police Department, he wrote. That transparency has been slow to arrive, however. HOLYOKE Two days after a Holyoke Police Officer posted a viral YouTube video accusing his own department of corruption and racism, Police Chief Manny Febo has clapped back. They took my gun and my badge and kicked me out of the email system," Roca said on Monday,according to MassLive. Matthew Moriarty, who handles communications for the department, all failed to answer numerous email and phone messages. The complaints allege HPD officers engaged in misconduct ranging from brutality and bullying to discourtesy and dishonesty. Subscribe Today, Amherst Police Chief Livingstone stepping down in May, Unions: UMass putting 100 jobs in jeopardy with privatization plan, Murdaughs fall from grace ends in life sentence for murder, Biden leaving room to change his mind on reelection. One of our detectives who is assigned to a task force had his task force vehicle broken into, he said. Hours per week:37.5 Weeks per year:52. One officer was accused of using his siren at a drive-thru window to get his ice cream more quickly. He said he felt as though for too long officers have been afraid to speak up and wanted this to change. Rafael Roca, a former US Marine who became a Holyoke, MA police officer in 2016, released this 43-minute video on Sunday exposing the corruption in his department. Febo did not use any names in his statement, but addressed an incident 10 years ago where rifles were lost. The man, whose name the department redacted, said Leahy accused him of raising a handgun as he crossed the street in front of Leahys cruiser. The benefits of learning to play READ THE REST. In 2014, the president of the patrol-officer union wrote a scathing letter to the City Council denouncing Councilors Rebecca Lisi and Jossie Valentin for marching in a Black Lives Matter protest where he said some protesters used anti-police rhetoric., Since that moment, it was very evident to me that some members of the Holyoke Police Department were not happy with me and with Rebecca, Valentin told NEPM in an interview from Puerto Rico, where she now lives. I stand behind the video and what I said in it. This story is a production of the New England News Collaborative. In this still from a video Roca posted to YouTube on March 7, 2021, Roca alleges there is corruption and racism in the Holyoke Police Department. The Hampden District Attorney's Office told NEPM it was unable to confirm this report or comment on it without more information, like the name of the defendant, which was redacted from the public records response. }. He was deployed in 2009-2010 to Iraq where he assisted military police . In a nearly 45-minute speech, he alleges that superior officers in the department falsify overtime pay, have protected each other from punishment from misconduct and have fostered a culture of favoritism and racism when it comes to promotion. var currentheadline = document.getElementById("headline").innerText; Mr. Holyoke police officer Rafael Roca. Ernest Fontaine, Fitchburg State . In 2017, for example, a civilian accused Holyoke police officer Patrick Leahy of putting him through hell for almost a year.. 234 were here. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Compare the best Police Misconduct lawyers near Holyoke, MA today. It should be known as Corrupt City," he said in the video. (WWLP) - The Holyoke Fire Department was sent to Hampshire and Maple Streets for a car accident on Friday. In the departments investigation, police said they pulled him over for running a stop sign, then tried to tow his car after learning his license was suspended and registration revoked. Holyoke Officer Rafael Roca, a former Marine hired in 2016, said in the 43-minute video . Officer Leahy made up a substantial portion of his report, the man wrote. of var sellablestring3 = "STAFF FILE PHOTO"; Febo said that Roca misportrayed some examples of lost or stolen weapons. Daily Hampshire Gazette Contests & Promotions, Daily Hampshire Gazette Evening Top Reads, Daily Hampshire Gazette Weekly Top Stories, Daily Hampshire Gazette Dining & Entertainment, Support the var photocredit = "'SCREENSHOT/YOUTUBE' 'Holyoke police officer Rafael Roca. We were unable to subscribe you to WBUR Today. I think the challenge with that is in most jurisdictions that have a civilian review board or some version of that, its very rare for that board to have investigatory powers, Terrill said. Though he mentioned no names in the video, one incident Roca referred to occurred in September 2011, when police Sgt. and affiliate links. var sellablestring4 = "GAZETTE FILE PHOTO"; He was also advised that he is not to respond to his own complaints while off duty., Lastly, Febo responded to Rocas claim that minority officers are not given opportunities for specialized assignments. Rafael Roca, 37,. AMHERST Amherst Police Chief Scott Livingstone will retire in May after nearly 14 years leading a department he joined upon graduating from AMHERST Unions at the University of Massachusetts are contending that more than 100 state jobs, and their accompanying benefits, are being WALTERBORO, S.C. One of the last pieces of a legal dynasty that doled out justice in rural South Carolina for decades crumbled Friday as lawyer WASHINGTON President Joe Biden exudes confidence as the next race for the White House approaches.During last months State of the Union address Holyoke police officer Rafael Roca alleges there iscorruption and racism in the Holyoke Police Department. "I'll probably lose my job, but I'm good. Pages 17 Course Hero uses AI to attempt to automatically extract content from documents to surface to you and others so you can study better, e.g., in search results, to enrich docs, and more. But now he finds out if he will be charged with misdemeanor furnishing of alcohol and reckless endangerment of a. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. When you are someone who speaks up about injustice and about corrupt police officers, they label you as a liar, they label you as a dirty police officer, they label you as someone who is untrustworthy, he said. In March, Roca was placed on suspension after his video, which has over 56,000 views, accused officers of false overtime pay, protecting each other from punishment after misconduct and creating a culture of racism and favoritism, especially with promotions. Last year, a judge ruled in favor of the newspaper and ordered the city to pay $5,000 in punitive damages and $100,000 in legal fees. . The analysis found that 15 officers were paid more than 500 hours of overtime in fiscal year 2020, including four of the departments five highest-paid officers, who earned hourly overtime rates ranging from $94 to $109 an hour. Its not clear and it doesnt exist. And he said that when he would leave the station during those three weeks, police would pull his car over. Because when you speak up and you expose corruption, he said in the video, thats what they do.. Roca said he expected to face discipline after posting the video but was invested in calling attention to what he saw as problems within the department. In one 2013 complaint, for example, a civilian alleged they watched police officer Charles Monfett pull up next to his brother in his police cruiser and hand him a bag of pot., We also overheard how it was just recovered from someone at Jones Point, the complaint alleges. Roca said he was suspended for violating the departments social media policy, which bars officers from criticizing the department on social media platforms. Youre supposed to act a certain way, talk a certain way. (WWLP) - Holyoke's Chief of Police responded to the allegations of corruption within the department, made by an officer in a widely-circulated YouTube video. Myrick was originally elected when he READ THE REST, We thank our sponsor for making this content possible; it is not written by the editorial staff nor does it necessarily reflect its views. Work Schedule:Monday through Friday Department Summary & Job Purpose: The Assistant Vice President for Civil Rights and Title IX Coordinator is a key leader of the College's equity and compliance work and an essential member of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion team centered around creating an inclusive campus community . Roca said he had performed consistently in his role as a police officer and engaged in crime fighting when others were allegedly sleeping in their police cruisers and ignoring crime. He went on to say there had been officers he knew of that were allegedly involved in drunk driving incidents, who had assaulted people with their boats who have been labeled as racist and officers who had stolen money. He went on to say there were police officers who allegedly have made an excess of $260,000 a year and no one had questioned the situation. It took the HPD more than a year and a half to turn over its 69 internal investigations, all of which the department redacted to remove information about the person alleging misconduct. A Massachusetts police officer who posted a video online alleging corruption within his department says he has been placed on paid administrative leave after refusing to take. Service, a Creative Commons When. And cities where complaints of police misconduct are rarely ruled in favor of civilians could benefit from creating an oversight structure to independently investigate these complaints. They took my gun and my badge and kicked me out of the email system, Roca told Masslive.com on Monday. Concepcion, who alleged that police unjustifiably yanked him out of his car at gunpoint in 2016, said he attempted to file a complaint against the officers that day, but police at the station told him they had no complaint forms on hand. Febo said a detectives vehicle was broken into and taken from that vehicle was 2 ballistic vests with 2 magazines in the pouches, along with some K9 gear, and a first aid bag. Some, but not all, of those items were later found in a vehicle stolen from Granby that was recovered in Hartford, according to Febo. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising He also mentioned that he was fired right before Joshua Garcia was sworn in as Holyokes mayor on Monday. Roca mentioned the incident in his video over the weekend. "I'm here to make this video to expose the corruption, and the lies, and the injustice that is taking place within the police department in Holyoke, Massachusetts," he says at the start of the video. He says he was consistently singled out for vocalizing his opposition to the police chief, made to repeat pieces of training and attacked via email for not supporting one supervisors protest against police reform. 'Officer shuffle': Some ousted cops find jobs at new departments in Mass. used triad trailer for sale. The Appellant left the Holyoke Police Station at approximately 11:00 p.m. and proceeded to the detail in his personal vehicle by means of Southampton Road. var currentheadline = document.getElementById("headline").innerText; The backlash was swift from the citys two police unions, which called on Maldonado Velez to apologize or recuse himself from votes related to the police department. Ultimately, police found the weapon in February 2012 while Morse was riding along with officers on duty. Last fall, five of the remaining six members of the board quit after they wereblocked from reviewing the police department's internal reporton the police killing of city resident Miguel Estrella. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. v. Civil Service . We definitely had examples of moments where we felt we were treated differently because of our activism and there was an underlying tone of retaliation.. Holyoke Officer Rafael Roca, a former Marine hired in 2016, said in the 43-minute video posted on YouTube that Chief Manny Febo is corrupt and plays favorites, and he argued that members of minority groups are passed over for plum assignments and that discipline is handed out selectively. '"; Twelve of the 46 patrolmen with eight years or more of experience are part of a minority group, and nine of them have specialized positions, Febo wrote. John Hart was suspended and fined for losing a department-issued sniper rifle. In fact, a year later, Valentin filed a civilian complaint against an HPD officer over his rudeness to her at the scene of a car crash involving her wife treatment Valentin alleged was related to her political stances. Roca said a police captain called him about a day after he posted the video. If that doesn't work, move to step 2: literally shoot the messenger When presented with NEPMs findings, Maldonado Velez said the lack of discipline resulting from civilian complaints is just not surprising and not unique to Holyoke. The man alleged there was a problem with the arrest report Leahy later filed, saying it contained outright lies and falsehoods. He said he never had a gun and never even stepped into the street. var sellablestring2 = "STAFF PHOTO"; Mayor Joshua Garcia also declined to sit down for an interview with NEPM. According to the Holyoke Fire Department, at approximately 8:30 p.m . For those reasons, Reyes cleared the officers of violating department policies. Joshua Garcia was sworn in as Holyokes 45th mayor on Monday. The police, for me, was used as a reminder to stay in my place. Garcia said that a sub-group from the city's Police Relations Advisory Committee reviewed several consulting firms' proposals to conduct the audit. Hed be gone by then.. Thats what police was for. He attested that state troopers consistently call him to translate for them, as they do not have enough Spanish speakers on the force. var currentLocation = window.location; Roca claimed that Manny Febo, the first Latinx police chief in Holyoke, has targeted him and other employees by refusing them positions and recognition for their work. The mayor of Holyoke, Massachusetts has appointed a new police chief who will be the first Latino to lead the department. As for Roca, he said he doesnt regret posting the video or making the allegations. In his own time, he said that he witnessed classmates incarcerated as part of the school-to-prison pipeline.. Holyoke Police Officer Rafael Roca Fired Over Video Accusing Department Of Corruption And Racism November 23, 2021 | No Comments Last week, Holyoke's acting mayor fired Rafael Roca, a police officer who posted a video to YouTube making allegations of corruption and racism within the Holyoke Police Department, Daily Hampshire Gazette reported. At the time, Roca told the commission that he had told Monsalve he was OK with the driver being placed in protective custody instead of being arrested because he did not view it as his decision.. All rights reserved, FIRST ALERT: Storm Hitting Greater Boston Live Radar, Updates.