Swampscott police rebuke town leaders for public statement
Sternly-worded statement comes after chief opens investigation
William J. Dowd and Leigh Blander
The Swampscott Police union late Friday issued a sternly-worded statement aimed at the town’s leadership.
“It is with utmost disappointment that we, the members of the Swampscott Police Department, are compelled to write in response to the accusations made in an official document from the town of Swampscott, Office of the Select Board, dated on Jan. 6, 2021,” reads the union statement.
The union s statement specifically targets the language in the town s Jan. 6 press release, announcing that Swampscott Police Chief Ronald Madigan opened an independent, internal investigation into the mid-December arrest of a Black Lives Matter protester.
Swampscott opens investigation into BLM activist s arrest
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The Swampscott Police Department will carry out an independent, internal investigation into the mid-December arrest of a Black Lives Matter protester, officials announced on Thursday.
Police Chief Ronald Madigan ordered this investigation in light of new information that officials said was recently provided to the Police Department.
The investigation will review the events that led to the arrest of Ernest Jean-Jacques during a Trump rally on Dec. 12. On that day, Jean-Jacques who was part of a counter Black Lives Matter contingent was arrested by Swampscott Police, accused of punching 80-year-old Linda Greenberg of Swampscott. He’s been charged with assault and battery on a person over 60 years old.
In Swampscott, activist s arrest gets push-back from community
Public demands an investigation into what happened
Leigh Blander / Correspondent
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Concerned citizens angered over the arrest of a Black civil rights activist at a recent Trump rally in Swampscott met with the town’s police chief, Ronald Madigan, on Friday Dec. 18, demanding an investigation into what led to the arrest.
“We’re astonished that the police took these actions, which seem clearly racially driven,” said Swampscott resident Stephanie Tucker. “In all of the videos we’ve seen, it is not at all apparent that the gentleman punched anyone.”