An investigation by New England Public Media found that only in a few cases do civilian complaints of police misconduct result in disciplinary action. This comes after a 2020 sweeping police reform law clarified that law enforcement misconduct investigations were not “personnel records" but rather public records.
A decade of civilian complaints against Holyoke police shows that of the 92 times an officer was named, the department upheld those allegations only three times. NEPM obtained the records after a sweeping police reform law in Massachusetts opened up law enforcement misconduct investigations to greater public scrutiny.
Blandford town administrator Joshua Garcia becomes 5th candidate for Holyoke mayor
Updated 1:31 PM;
Today 1:26 PM
Blandford town administrator Joshua Garcia, pictured in 2019, announced Thursday he will run for mayor in Holyoke. (Don Treeger / The Republican file photo)
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HOLYOKE Joshua A. Garcia will launch a mayoral bid, expanding the field to five declared candidates.
Garcia, Blandford’s town administrator and a former Holyoke School Committee member, released a statement Thursday announcing his mayoral run.
“My vision for Holyoke is one shared by residents from every corner of the city, and that is to cultivate an environment within our local government and our neighborhoods that are sustainable, practical and inclusive,” Garcia stated.
Holyoke City Council addresses police practices, policies after corruption allegation
Updated 12:35 PM;
HOLYOKE – The City Council’s Public Safety Committee took up an order that supports examining the Police Department’s policies and practices.
City Councilors Rebecca Lisi, Gladys Lebron-Martinez and Juan Anderson-Burgos filed the order after a YouTube video posted by Police Officer Rafael Roca alleged widespread corruption within the Police Department. Roca was suspended from duty in early March.
The order stated, “In an effort to obtain neutral, fact-based data and statistics, the city contract an independent assessment of Holyoke Police Department’s structure, policies and practices.”
Ward 2 Councilor and Acting Mayor Terence Murphy, the committee’s chair, said his goal was to share as much public information and possible “to prove what we have and what has been working well” within the Police Department.
U.S. Rep. Richard Neal announces nearly $32 million in American Rescue Plan money for Holyoke
Updated 3:08 PM;
HOLYOKE – U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal (D-MA) said the City of Holyoke will receive nearly $32 million from the American Rescue Plan, part of the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package.
Neal, who chairs the House Ways and Means Committee, joined Acting Mayor Terence Murphy at Holyoke City Hall Friday for the announcement.
With no Republican support, President Joseph R. Biden signed the American Rescue Plan in March. “President Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan is ambitious, but achievable, and will rescue the American economy and start beating the virus,” according to www.whitehouse.gov.