Worcester unveils police misconduct hotline after scathing report from DOJ.
The city of Worcester has unveiled its new police misconduct hotline, which officials hope will make it easier for citizens to report concerns about police behavior following a bombshell report from the Department of Justice accusing the Worcester Police Department of civil rights violations.
According to the city, the new line is for reporting issues like discrimination, bias, harassment or the use of excessive force. All complaints will be reviewed by the city’s Executive Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
The hotline can be reached by phone at 774-548-1696, or reports can be made online by filling out a form on the City of Worcester’s website. Complaints can also be made in person by visiting the office at 51 Sever St. The hotline is active as of Monday, Dec. 16.
City Manager Eric D. Batista also said the Executive Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion will help review training and policy and then offer more trainings on topics like implicit bias and behavioral health.
The scathing report that prompted the changes detailed what federal investigators called “outrageous government conduct” involving officers and women in the sex trade, as well as the use of excessive force.
The report from the U.S. Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division found a pattern or practice of allowing officers to engage in sexual contact with women suspected of being involved in the commercial sex trade as well as the unjustified uses of tasers and police dogs and strikes to the head. Investigators also raised concerns over the possibility of racially discriminatory policing.
Brian T. Kelly, a lawyer representing the police department, previously said police and city officials have cooperated with the federal investigation. He also called the report “unfair, inaccurate and biased.”
“Instead of identifying individual officers who could – and should – be prosecuted if these serious allegations were true, DOJ has prepared a report by civil lawyers with no prosecutorial experience which makes incredibly broad allegations but fails to identify a single corrupt officer,” Kelley said in a written statement. “
The report is riddled with factual inaccuracies and ignores information provided by the city which debunks many of the anonymous claims,” he added.
Mayor Joseph Petty said last week he was taking the report’s findings “very seriously,” but also questioned some of the findings.
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