MANSFIELD (CBS) – Help is wanted at police departments across Massachusetts, but chiefs say applicants are hard to find, especially during turbulent times. In Attleboro, six vacancies on the force have gone unfilled. “We certainly want to hire good, quality candidates,” said Attleboro Police Chief Kyle Heagney. “But what is going on nationally is affecting us here in the Commonwealth.” READ MORE: Prosecution’s Thorough, Methodical Approach Credited For Unanimous Verdict In Chauvin Trial, Legal Analyst Says In the last several years, a series of questionable police shootings have led to sometimes violent protests and perhaps an eroding of public trust in local police. Mansfield Police Chief Ron Sellon said some critics don’t actually know how officers interact with the public. “The criticism that is going on nationally and quite frankly the criticism that is coming at us from the State House at times from people that don’t know how they do their job, that they don’t know how they interact, that they make a judgment based upon what they think as opposed to what they know, can at times not be helpful,” said Chief Sellon. With police protests now occupying the public consciousness, these police chiefs are having a hard time filling vacant jobs. READ MORE: Boston Pastor Says Chauvin Guilty Verdict 'Restores Hope' “When you’re being judged, and criticized of being a police officer, based on what happens thousands and thousands of miles away across the country,” Heagney said, “it’s becoming increasingly difficult to attract new recruits.” Both police chiefs say the state’s antiquated Civil Service system keeps them from hiring the most qualified candidates. “This candidate isn’t as good as this candidate and then Civil Service steps in and says ‘Well we are going to tell you to hire that person anyway,’” Sellon said. With the public demanding change in police departments, these chiefs have a suggestion. “If you want change in policing, please ...
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Convicting Police of Murder Remains Rare in US
It took just three days after the April 11 killing of a young Black man by a white police officer in Minnesota for local prosecutors to announce charges in the case. Former Brooklyn Center police officer Kim Potter was charged on Wednesday with second-degree manslaughter in the shooting and killing of 20-year-old Daunte Wright during a traffic stop, Washington County Attorney Pete Orput announced. Potter's chief said Potter intended to use her Taser electroshock weapon but instead accidentally fired her gun. "We will vigorously prosecute this case and intend to prove that Officer Potter abrogated her responsibility to protect the public when she used her firearm rather than her Taser," Imran Ali, a prosecutor in Orput's office, said in a statement . While Wright's family is calling for murder charges against Potter, the alacrity with which Orput acted marks a shift from just a few years ago, when investigators would routinely spend months on a police shooting case only to decide against bringing charges. "That doesn't usually happen anymore. People won't put up with it," said David Harris, a law professor at the University of Pittsburgh who teaches about police behavior. The killing coincided with the final days of the trial of Derek Chauvin, the white former Minneapolis police officer charged with murder in the death of George Floyd, a Black man who died after Chauvin pinned Floyd's neck with his knee for more than nine minutes. The jury heard closing arguments in the case on Monday and has begun its deliberation. Potter, a 26-year veteran of the Brooklyn Center Police Department, has pleaded not guilty. If convicted, she faces up to 10 years in prison. The fact that Potter was charged in the shooting just three days after the tragic incident "is a big, big change," Harris said, albeit "just not enough." The 2014 shooting of Michael Brown Jr., an 18-year-old Black man, by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, coupled with Floyd's death, has ...
Detroit Police Chief: Tlaib’s, Waters’ Remarks ‘Shameful’ for Non-White Communities that ‘Rely on’ Police
On Monday’s broadcast of the Fox Business Network’s “Evening Edit,” Detroit Police Chief James Craig said that the “reckless and disgusting” comments by Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Maxine Waters (D-CA) are “shameful” for “communities of color and other places who rely on us to do an effective job.” Craig said, “What I say is, in our majority African American community here in Detroit, the majority support the men and women who serve every single day, they support us. And I think I can honestly say that for a lot of the communities of color and other places who rely on us to do an effective job. Now, I’m not supporting bad policing, not at all. We should hold bad police officers accountable. But when you have people in seats of influencing, you notice, Liz, I didn’t say seats of leadership. Because I cannot attach leadership to individuals like Waters or Tlaib, that’s not leadership. Leadership is coming up with reasonable solutions, not knee-jerk reactions. And let’s face it, Liz, we know this is really all about self-serving. This is self-serving, and they are catering to a fringe group, and it’s shameful. It’s shameful for the people who live in these cities, who rely on policing every single day.” Craig further stated in reference to Waters, “[L]ike I said about Rashida Tlaib, I’d be the first person to call for her resignation and throw her a going-away party, she needs to be censured.” Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett ...
Police: Men Drive Off In Stolen Mercedes, BMW After Robbing Garage At Gunpoint
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — Police are searching for two men seen on video barging into an Upper Manhattan parking garage and robbing an attendant at gunpoint before driving off in stolen cars. The robbery happened around 8 a.m. Sunday at a garage on West 181st Street near Amsterdam Avenue in Washington Heights . READ MORE: Arsonist Kills Eastern Box Turtle In Southampton Town Woodlands, Suffolk Police Say Surveillance video shows the suspects walk into the garage with a scooter and start talking to the attendant outside the office. READ MORE: With All Eyes On Minneapolis, NYPD Says It Is Prepared For Reaction To Derek Chauvin Verdict (Credit: NYPD) That’s when one man suddenly pulls out a gun, points it at the worker’s head and forces him into the office. Police said the suspects stole his wallet and cellphone, then took keys from a key box and drove off in a blue 2015 Mercedes Benz C30 and a 2014 black BMW 335i xDrive with Pennsylvania license plate RR6B32. MORE NEWS: NYPD: 1 Suspect In Custody, 1 At Large After Shootout With Police In Harlem Anyone with information about the robbery is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). You can also submit a tip via their website or on Twitter, @NYPDTips . All calls are kept confidential. ...
Gov. Cuomo Questions If Mayor De Blasio’s Police Reform Plan Does Enough To Address Gun Violence In NYC
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — As gun violence continues to plague New York City, Gov. Andrew Cuomo questions whether Mayor Bill de Blasio ‘s police reform plans have done enough to keep the city safe. New York City has been unable to stop the gun violence. Just ask Evette Lilley, whose 12-year-old grandson was shot in the chest just a few days ago. READ MORE: Police: Jose Everaldo Reyes Charged With Killing Lizbeth Mass At City Island Construction Site “It’s constantly happening and nothing is being done,” she said. “The guns need to go off the street.” Or a Bronx resident who lives near a construction site where a woman was shot and killed two days ago . “Never in my wildest dreams did I think something like this could happen,” he said. Enter the governor, holding out the possibility that he’ll use his powers to help fix things. “You’re not going to see New York City come back until people believe New York City is safe,” Cuomo said. “You’re not going to see the New York City economy rebound until people believe the New York City area is safe.” The governor is questioning whether de Blasio’s state-required police reform plan sufficiently addresses gun violence. READ MORE: Caught On Video: Brazen Shootout At Bronx Intersection Damages Nearby Apartment, Parked Car “The gun crimes and the increase in crime is frightening people. I hear about it all the time, and the question is, is that police reform plan enough?” Cuomo said. Watch: Gov. Andrew Cuomo Gives Latest Update — As CBS2’s Marcia Kramer reports, if Cuomo rejects the plan, he could withhold state aid to New York City or appoint an outside monitor. City Hall hit back with the mayor’s spokesman saying, “The overall crime rate has decreased in New York City and I won’t take comments about crime seriously from someone credibly accused of committing sexual assault, a felony crime.” Overall crime is down 12.7% year-to-date, but gun crimes have skyrocketed. There is a ...
