Police OT under scrutiny in Holyoke
A Holyoke police supervisor responds to a call on Sargeant Street on Wednesday, April 28, 2021. STAFF PHOTO/KEVIN GUTTING
Holyoke police respond to a call in the 100 block of Suffolk Street on Wednesday, April 28, 2021. STAFF PHOTO/KEVIN GUTTING
Holyoke Police station on Appleton Street, photographed on Wednesday, April 28, 2021. STAFF PHOTO/KEVIN GUTTING
Holyoke Police cars parked at the William S. Taupier Municipal Parking Garage on Division Street on Wednesday, April 28, 2021. STAFF PHOTO/KEVIN GUTTING
Holyoke Police cars parked at the William S. Taupier Municipal Parking Garage on Division Street on Wednesday, April 28, 2021. STAFF PHOTO/KEVIN GUTTING
City officials mull review of Holyoke Police Department
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Published: 4/25/2021 11:43:08 AM
HOLYOKE The City Council’s Public Safety Committee is considering the possibility of an audit of the Holyoke Police Department’s structure, policies and practices.
That was the topic of conversation when the committee met last Wednesday to discuss the idea of a police department assessment from Holyoke Community College criminal justice professor Nicole Hendricks, Police Chief Manny Febo and residents who had served on former mayor Alex Morse’s stalled Civilian Review Committee.
The incident that sparked Wednesday’s conversation, though not mentioned directly, was a viral video that HPD patrolman Rafael Roca posted on social media last month in which he levied allegations of corruption, misbehavior and discrimination within the department. At-large City Councilor Rebecca Lisi referenced the allegations indirectly after noting that the departmen
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.
Murphy named Holyoke’s acting mayor
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Holyoke At-large City Councilor Peter Tallman attends the first meeting of the new year, Jan. 6, 2020. GAZETTE FILE PHOTO
HOLYOKE The city has a new mayor for the next seven months, anyway.
In a special meeting Monday, the City Council voted to name Ward 2 Councilor Terence Murphy acting mayor, a role he will fill until a new mayor is elected in November.
Murphy takes over for City Council President Todd McGee, who has been acting mayor since Alex Morse stepped down March 26 to become town manager in Provincetown.
McGee said he could only serve as acting mayor on a temporary basis because of a potential conflict of interest with his employer, MassMutual.
Holyoke councilors call for Police Department review
A Holyoke Police Department cruiser. GAZETTE FILE PHOTO
Holyoke Police Chief Manny Febo joins protesters in a march, protest and vigil against racial injustice and police brutality, June 2. GAZETTE FILE PHOTO
Published: 3/15/2021 7:48:29 PM
HOLYOKE Four city councilors are calling for an independent assessment of the Holyoke Police Department after a video of a police officer alleging widespread corruption and racism within the department went viral last week.
At-large City Councilor Rebecca Lisi filed an order for an assessment, which is on the agenda for the City Council’s meeting on Tuesday night. The order proposes that “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.”