ACLU to Hold First Police Documentation Listening Session on Saturday

Friday, January 16, 2015

GoLocal Worcester News Team

On Wednesday, the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts (ACLU) announced it will hold its first listening session this Saturday as part of its police documentation initiative in Worcester. Along with several listening sessions, the Worcester initiative also includes street outreach. Residents of Worcester are invited to share their experiences of encounters with the Worcester Police Department.

Chris Robarge, ACLU's Central Massachusetts Field Coordinator, said "Though we have been hearing complaints about a serious and ongoing problem with misconduct and abusive police practices in the Worcester Police Department for years, I expect that this additional documentation will tell us some new things. It may also corroborate concerns that the WPD's self-investigation and citizen complaint processes are woefully inadequate."

According to a released statement, the ACLU's initiative will address residents' issues with reporting incidents to the WPD's Bureau of Professional Standards. The ACLU plans to release data about these complaints against WPD later this year.

"Contrary to assertions by Chief (Gary) Gemme...that Worcester residents only began to complain about police misconduct to the ACLU and others after national controversy flared, for over a decade we have received citizen complaints about the Worcester Police Department nearly every day. We want anyone who feels that they cannot go to the Worcester police with a complaint, or that doing so will do no good, to know that they can come to us," said Robarge.

Last year, Wakeelah Cocroft was awarded $15,000 by a Worcester jury in federal district court after finding that a Worcester Police office had violated her Fourth Amendment rights and the Massachusetts Civil Rights Act.

The ACLU will hold the first listening session this Saturday from 12 PM to 3 PM at Stone Soup, 4 King Street in Worcester.

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