Lawyers group, local NAACP branch seek termination of Williamstown police officer over Hitler photo
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Williamstown officer at center of Hitler photo controversy, a Medal of Valor recipient, called good for this town
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âSomeone on the list is one of my favorite police officers,â she said.
Williamstown has been struggling with issues of race and policing as a result of the Black Lives Matter movement and allegations of past racial and sexual harassment at the Police Department. Harrington was invited to the Williamstown Select Board meeting Monday to talk about the Brady policy and how the process functions.
It is an issue for Williamstown because a town police officer is on the Berkshire County Brady list.
Harringtonâs office released its Brady list in October 2020. It provides the names of police officers who should not be considered credible courtroom witnesses in criminal trails because of documented wrongdoing or misconduct. Prosecutors have an obligation to protect the constitutional rights of defendants to exculpatory evidence to ensure a fair trial, Harrington noted.
Mike Ziemba told the board Monday July 12, that he has compared Williamstown s policies against 170 policies from the town of Great Barrington, where the department is accredited by the Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission. Ziemba said it is the WPD s goal to achieve that same level of accreditation, a long-term process the department has just undertaken. He highlighted a couple of policies that have been updated, including one where changes were necessitated by the commonwealth s recent police reform bill. The WPD s new use of force policy, among other things, spells out a prohibition on the use of choke holds, Ziemba said. He also provided some detail on his department s policy on de-escalation techniques, which include using techniques like verbal persuasion warnings and calling in mental health consultants.