In an interview with the Republican, Febo disputed Rocas claims. The city of Holyoke is not alone in resisting transparency, and I think thats the only way to describe an 18-month delay in providing access to records that clearly were public, said Jeffrey Pyle, an attorney with the firm Prince Lobel Tye LLP who specializes in media and First Amendment law. This story has been updated to include a statement from Chief Manny Febo which he sent to the Gazette midday on Tuesday. I want to ensure the citizens of Holyoke that they can continue to have confidence in the men and women of the Holyoke Police Department and the great work that they do every day, he wrote. He said: The chief saw your video and hes ordering you to take it down, Roca said. Pyle represented the WorcesterTelegram & Gazettein the newspapers 2018 lawsuit against the city of Worcester over its police departments illegal withholding of misconduct records. Nine of those 12 are in specialized assignments other than patrol operations. Instead of being a man and admitting he made a mistake about seeing me with a firearm, he chose to remain silent and never appeared in court.. '"; Murphy said that Roca had been on paid leave for eight months, and that the city needed to resolve that matter. Lorna McMurrey, 27, was filling . In response to a public records request, the HPD has now turned over the 69 investigations it conducted from 2010 through 2019 into civilian complaints. Holyoke police officer parks in the train station on Main Street on Wednesday, April 28, 2021. The Holyoke Police Department is working very hard to reduce crime and impact violence in this industrious Western Massachusetts city. var sellablestring = "GAZETTE STAFF"; For those reasons, Reyes cleared the officers of violating department policies. None of them provided comment on the civilian complaints they faced or the departments investigation of them, and the heads of both the patrol officers union and supervisors union did not respond to questions from NEPM. This story is a production of the New England News Collaborative. Roca said he retired from the U.S. Marines after a lengthy career in 2016 and pursued his lifelong dream of being a police officer. But that work hasnt fully gotten off the ground yet. Last August, Holyoke Mayor Joshua Garcia hired the New. Roca, however, claimed that somebody stole the gun from Harts house during a party. var sellablestring2 = "STAFF PHOTO"; As of 2019, the estimated population was 40,117. . sales Holyoke Massachusetts & Pennsylvania Legal Representation. 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.. Of the remaining 34 non-minority officers in this group, 18 are in a specialized assignment. He said that he saved the state troopers life, only to be treated like a piece of crap afterward, getting turned down for a job with the state police. var sellablestring4 = "GAZETTE FILE PHOTO"; That is roughly 75 percent of minority officers with eight years or more in specialized assignments, he said. Pictured above: thumbnail of the Youtube video posted by Holyoke police officer Rafael Roca. Screenshot from YouTube. '"; 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. Roca was immediately placed on administrative leave as the department conducted an internal investigation. Roca also alleged that he has been the subject of retaliation for speaking out about misconduct in the department. In 2017, for example, a civilian accused Holyoke police officer Patrick Leahy of putting him through hell for almost a year.. //LBtag_id.innerHTML = ''; Roca responded saying he already appealed the decision to the Massachusetts Civil Service Commission. Roca said he also plans to file a lawsuit over his treatment. 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. Tagged: Holyoke, Rafael Roca, Holyoke Police Department, Manny Febo, YouTube, Ella White, Pioneer Valley, Italian professors departure would mean end of Italian major and minor programs, Students mobilize against the rise in tuition costs/tuition increase, Holyoke police officer suspended after alleging corruption. In January, Holyoke settled the police brutality suit against the city and officers for $65,000. Out of the 92 times an officer was named in a civilian complaint, HPDs top brass only sustained, or upheld, allegations against an officer three times: a dispatcher who received a verbal warning in 2012 when she was accused of rudeness, an officer who received a verbal warning after he released a 14 year olds booking photo to the press in 2018, and another officer who received additional training in 2013 after a group of civilians accused her of swearing at them and referring to them as illegals.. Holyoke St. Patrick's Committee holds 67th Grand Video / Feb 18, 2023 / 10:41 PM EST The 70th annual Holyoke St. Patrick's Parade is now nearly a month away and at the Log Cabin Saturday . Who will be eaten first? Its a problem within our commonwealth and it will continue to be a problem until we have an administrative agency that has teeth, that has enforcement power, that can punish municipalities and agencies when they withhold records improperly, Pyle said. The city settled that lawsuit for $65,000 in 2020. Reyes, Police Chief David Pratt and Capt. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, told NEPM that she filed the complaint because she wanted to push back against her constituents dominant perception: that there was no point in filing a complaint against the HPD. Its not clear and it doesnt exist. Holyoke police officer Rafael Roca alleges there iscorruption and racism in the Holyoke Police Department. Asked on Monday what he thinks will happen to him after he spoke out against the department and other officers, Roca said he expects to be fired a possibility he mentioned in his video. It was originally published by New England Public Media. The chief did, however, address several of the allegations Roca made in the video. Roca said he hopes the Massachusetts government will audit the department. I stand behind the video and what I said in it.. Nobody should get away with taking the law into their own hands and being above it, he said. 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. var photocredit = photocredit.toUpperCase(); March 9, 2021. That outcome police officers facing no discipline after a civilian alleges wrongdoing is hardly unique to Concepcions case. We dont have that today.. 'Holyoke police officer Rafael Roca alleges there iscorruption and racism in the Holyoke Police Department. No probable cause, there was no weapons, there was no reason to assume there were weapons., An officer told him to shut my mouth or much more than my rights would be violated, Concepcion wrote in a complaint he later filed with the police department. Degnan said in her report that she offered him the ability to participate via telephone and that she did not receive a physicians note with sufficient detail to verify that he could not participate in the hearing. Joshua Garcia was sworn in as Holyokes 45th mayor on Monday. 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. Not one time did they respond to a call, not one time were they on the radio, he said. Howie Carr: What's so urgent in Holbrook, Mr. Speaker? //LBtag_id.innerHTML = ''; She wrotethat she believed Rocas public statements to be untruthful and self-serving, and that he made them with the intent to defame the Holyoke Police Department.. Office Location: 57 Suffolk St. Suite 200 Holyoke, MA 01040 Call Us He also made the case that his statements were on matters of public concern; a Holyoke Police Department rule bars criticism of the department except on matters of public concern.. No civilian complaints data obtained for this agency. March 15, YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. ", He calls outgoing Police Chief Manny Febo "corrupt," contending minorities are routinely passed over for upper-tier assignments and disciplined at higher rates. I am a Latino. Holyoke Officer Rafael Roca, a former Marine hired in 2016, said in the 43-minute video . if (photocredit.indexOf(sellablestring) > -1 || photocredit.indexOf(sellablestring2) > -1 || photocredit.indexOf(sellablestring3) > -1 || photocredit.indexOf(sellablestring4) > -1) { var sellablestring4 = "GAZETTE FILE PHOTO"; He was deployed to Bosnia from 2003-2004 where he worked with anti-corruption and security forces. They label you a liar, he said. Im very confident that something is going to come of it, he said. 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. I wasnt looking for them to be on my side, but youd think if somebody was making allegations about their city they may have questions themselves.. 1 Catholic Memorial; roundup/list of scores, As Adderall shortage continues, DEA plans to limit some telemedicine prescriptions, House where JonBenet Ramsey was found dead listed for sale for almost $7M, Columbia University permanently drops SAT, ACT admissions requirement, The Waterbed Doctor: California retailer lays claim to retro bed with nearly 40 years of service, sales, Felonious Florida podcast: Missing teenage girl leads to several cases of child sex trafficking. Position Type:Staff Full-time. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected the youngest mayor of Holyoke at age 22. They took my gun and my badge and kicked me out of the email system," Roca said on Monday,according to MassLive. When told of NEPMs findings that only three officers had civilian complaints sustained against them over a decade, Valentin said shes not surprised. Internal affairs is corrupt as can be, Roca said in his video. The stolen vehicle was later recovered in Hartford, CT and one of the vests and some K9 gear was recovered. In March, Rafael Roca, who had been a Holyoke police officer since 2015, posted the video to YouTube, where it has since been viewed more than 56,000 times. "I'll probably lose my job, but I'm good. The city attorney suggested that under the circumstances the city was getting off easy. Holyoke Police Department | Holyoke MA In another case filed in 2018, a city resident wrote on their complaint form: It shouldnt take over an hour to get this paperwork to file a complaint., In 2017, former Holyoke resident Janette Hernandez Pagan sued the city, claiming HPD officers beat her 12-year-old son unconscious in 2014. Youre supposed to act a certain way, talk a certain way. 8. Rocas video has reached over 50,000 views. He expressed frustration that former Mayor Alex Morse did not do enough to address issues of racism during his tenure. All rights reserved, FIRST ALERT: Storm Hitting Greater Boston Live Radar, Updates. Former Brockton RMV manager, driving school owner charged by U.S. Attorney with giving passing test scores to people who failed, Complete Boston payroll for 2022: Your Tax Dollars at Work, Boston drug trafficker set to do 11 years in prison, give up Louis Vuitton bags, feds say, Union drive: Uber, Lyft drivers rally for right to unionize, Boston sees first open race for Suffolk Superior civil court clerk magistrate in nearly 50 years, High school tournaments: Winchester stuns No. When Massachusetts lawmakers passed a sweeping police reform law in late 2020, one of the bills provisions opened up law enforcement misconduct investigations to greater scrutiny under the states public records law. He has since been suspended for . Febo did not use any names in his statement, but addressed an incident 10 years ago where rifles were lost. I find that the amount of force used was reasonably necessary under the circumstances, the internal investigation concluded, noting that fellow officers described Hamels initial interaction with the man as peaceful, calm and cooperative.. sites. NEPM also contacted all of the police officers mentioned in this story via email or phone. In his own time, he said that he witnessed classmates incarcerated as part of the school-to-prison pipeline.. It's Boston local news in one concise, fun and informative email. I speak to citizens, I speak to former police officers, retired police officers and they all say corruption and racism has taken place within this department for as long as anyone can remember., In an interview with the Gazette, Roca said that after posting the video which had more than 27,000 views days after it was posted a police department captain called him to say that Police Chief Manny Febo was ordering him to remove the video. var currentLocation = window.location; There are white people who try to make it difficult for us, make it difficult for the people who have done the right thing, make it difficult for the people who want to stand up for whats right, he said. SCREENSHOT/YOUTUBE There are only two officers in this group that are assigned to specialized units. Instead of arresting the driver, Monsalve, one of a number of officers who responded, decided to park the drivers car and give him a ride back home. The report, which Roca shared with the Gazette, was completed on July 2. The attorney generals office declined to comment on Tuesday. The man alleged that Leahy tackled him to the ground at 2 a.m. after he had left a club, put a gun to his head and told him to shut up when he asked what was going on. Service. More Local News to Love Start today for 50% off Expires 3/6/23, Holyoke Police Officer Rafael Roca suspended after posting viral video alleging corruption at the department, Because of this video I will probably be fired: Holyoke officer alleges police corruption in viral video, Holyokes fiscal future appears bright as Joshua Garcia enters office. The investigating officers found that Roca had violated four department policies: failing to comply with an order to take his video down, unbecoming conduct, criticism of the department and social media rules. The HPDs top brass did not respond to numerous requests for comment on this story. More Local News to Love Start today for 50% off Expires 3/6/23. At the end of the video, Roca went on to tell viewers to seek accountability from elected officials. In it, he alleged that superior officers falsify overtime pay, have protected each other from punishment for misconduct and have fostered a culture of favoritism and racism when it comes to promotion. HOLYOKE, Mass. That second entry likely relates to an incident in 2017 when Roca fired his gun at a Leeds resident, Dan Guyette, who led officers on a high-speed chase through Holyoke before crashing into parked cars. 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.

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