State Law Opens Records of Worcester State Hospital, Other Asylums

BOSTON – Gov. Maura Healey highlighted changes to state laws on records related to the former institutional system in Massachusetts on Wednesday, Dec. 18, that were included in the state supplemental budget passed by the legislature and signed in on Nov. 25.

Included in the supplemental budget were changes to state law that make state institutional records public after 75 years, or 50 years after the death of the patient. The changes were modeled after a series of reports from the Special Commission on State Institutions released earlier this year. The reports include a 366 research report that outlines the history of state institutions in Massachusetts.

The Center for Developmental Disabilities Evaluation and Research, the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center, and UMass Chan Medical School collaborated to create the research report.

The law covers records of over 25 institutions, most of which are now closed, including four in Worcester County:

• Worcester State Hospital (1833 – 1991)
  • Alternative names: Worcester Insane Asylum, Worcester Lunatic Asylum
• Westborough State Hospital (1884-2010)
  • Alternative name: Westborough Insane Hospital
• Grafton State Hospital (1901-1973)
  • Alternative name: Grafton Farm Colony
• Gardner State Hospital (1902 – 1975)
  • Alternative names: State Colony for the Insane, Gardner State Colony
• State Reform School for Boys in Westborough (1848-1884)

“It’s crucial that family members have access to the records of their loved ones from their time in state institutions,” said Governor Healey. “Not only will it help inform them of their own family history, but this provision will allow our researchers and scholars to tell the full story of the many people who were impacted by these institutions. While we can’t change what occurred in the past, we’re doing what we can today to provide family members with the dignity that they deserve.

The special committee report covers the public laws that led to the establishment of these institutions by category, including:

• Methods of Public Assistance for the Able-Bodied and Sick Poor – Town Almshouses, Workhouses, and Poor Farms (1600s and 1700s)
• Poor and Vagrancy Laws for the Able-Bodied and Sick –House of Corrections (1700s)
• Laws for the Relief of Idiots and Distracted Persons, Including Lunatics: Guardianship Laws (1726 – 177918)
• Use of Town Pauper Auctions to Privatize Support of Paupers Unable to Care for Themselves (late 1700s – 1830s)
• House of Corrections Commitment and Discharge Laws Void of Legal Protections for “Idiots” and “Lunatics” (1797 – 1835)
• Introduction of Age-related Classifications for the Poor – State Pauper Idiots and Lunatics (1800s)
• Financial Support of the Poor, Including Reimbursements for Pauper Idiots and Lunatics (1800s)
• A Shift to State Care Models – Reports and Subsequent Laws Supporting the Treatment of “Idiots” and “Lunatics” in Hospitals (1820s)
• Mid-19th Century Reform Movement
• The Emergence of Institutional Care for “Mentally Ill” Convicts in Massachusetts (1840s– 1880s)
• The Evolution of Massachusetts’ Almshouse System (1850s)
• Placement of Idiots and Lunatics not Furiously Mad in Town and State Almshouses (1850s – 1860s)
• Commitments of Children to State Institutions: Primary and Reform Schools (1850s – 1860s)

The report also has a section on the opening of the State Lunatic Hospital at Worcester in the 1830s.

The full report and summary reports are available on the state’s website.

Image credit: Bree Bailey from USA, Worcester state hospital (2817790263), CC BY-SA 2.0

Worcester Councilors Seek Legal Opinion: Can City Auditor Audit?

During the Worcester City Council meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 16, an order by Councilor Etel Haxhiaj requested the City Auditor conduct an audit of the Worcester Police Department (WPD) Bureau of Professional Standards (BOPS) records to ensure the accuracy of: 1) all officer information cards; and 2) annual data compilations of investigations.”

As Haxhiaj said during the meeting, this order originated with me.

Earlier this year, Mayor Joe Petty went full Belichickian and claimed he had previously misinterpreted the rules. The new interpretation of his unilateral declaration, in practice, prohibits residents from petitioning on any issue that may not be in the political interests of elected officials to vote on. Parking spots, speed bumps, and such are fine. Any resident who seeks the council to address any other issue must turn into a lobbyist and beg one of the elected elites to put the item on the agenda.

I asked Haxhiaj to put this item on the agenda as I recently discovered two issues with records related to internal misconduct investigations at the WPD.

The department maintains a document for every officer called an officer information card. This document lists all the internal investigations of an officer and the findings of each investigation.

The officer information card for the current president of the NEPBA Local 911, the union that represents patrol officers, Thomas Duffy II, lists 28 investigations that include 57 allegations, with 17 of those allegations of unreasonable force. I received this document through a public records request to the city. At the bottom, it says the city produced the document in May 2025.

As should be expected, when his coworkers investigated him, they found him not responsible for all 57 allegations. As implausible as that is, some self-proclaimed moderates (as I recently wrote, they aren’t moderate at all) are demanding this same system riddled with conflicts of interest stay in place.

Recently, I received a copy of an internal investigation report from a resident completed and signed in 2023, which included new allegations against Duffy. Surprising no one, his coworkers also cleared him of these three allegations against him, bringing the total to 60 consecutive allegations cleared.

This investigation did not appear on the officer information card for investigations into Duffy’s alleged misconduct.

Earlier this year I requested a data compilation of internal investigations from 2000 to 2024. I hoped to analyze the results of internal investigations over a long-term period.

I received documents from 2017 to 2023. The public records office said the department didn’t have this data compiled prior to 2017.

Both a lack of accurate documentation and the lack of documentation shouldn’t be acceptable. In normal cities, it wouldn’t be. In the punchline of a city government in Worcester, these records being correct is even more pressing with a city council that refuses to police its own law enforcement employees.

When this item came up for the council, I expected a race among the majority to kneel at the altar of loyalty to the union to enter a motion to file (throw it away). Instead, Councilor Kate Toomey used a more nuanced approach and asked for a legal opinion from the city solicitor if the city auditor could perform this work.

Yes, the city council needs a legal opinion to determine if the auditor can audit.

That may seem like a delay, but it’s likely lost forever in the abyss of information requests from the council. That’s exactly as intended.

In the antiquated and useless system of government in Worcester, councilors conduct no oversight of the executive branch. Rather than demand answers under their responsibility to conduct legislative inquiry, they request information from the city manager. Nearly all information that councilors acquire is filtered through the administration. The volume of requests enables the administration to select which requests it fulfills. Naturally, they respond to the requests that are in its interest.

Despite the unanimous support of the council, the administration has no responsibility to respond.

That’s why Toomey made the motion she did. Staying true to form, any analysis of anything at the police department is unacceptable. It is another example of most of the council screaming to police officers in this city that they can do anything they want. A majority of the council has “got their backs.”

Thankfully, most officers have ethics. A minority are thrilled to take that message from the council majority and run with it. The cover provided from the council majority encourages more officers to join the free-for-all minority.

That a legal interpretation of the city auditor’s ability to audit requires a legal opinion is peak Worcester. I recall no other time the domain of the auditor came into question.

Here are some other orders that appeared on the city council agenda this year that didn’t require a legal interpretation:

• Sept. 9 – COMMUNICATION of the City Auditor transmitting an informational communication auditing construction progress reports completed or not completed, information related to street selections, as well as
• Aug. 19 – Request City Auditor provide City Council with a report detailing all data from the past eighteen (18) months between Dispatch and the Worcester Police Department (WPD) concerning the Main South area.
• Jan. 28 – Request City Auditor conduct an audit of city’s sign creation processes that includes: 1) completion timelines; 2) installation timelines; and 3) compliance/noncompliance issues related to said process
• Jan. 14 – Request City Auditor organize and conduct a performance audit relative to the Department of Justice (DOJ)’s Investigation of the Worcester Police Department (WPD) and the City of Worcester, Massachusetts that includes a review of WPD body camera footage and reconciles any disparities provided in the DOJ report. Further, request City Auditor include in said performance audit whether oversight occurred and whether any subsequent disciplinary action took place.

Like the order requesting the police department provide a written report of the aspects of the DOJ report which it confirmed as accurate, don’t hold your breath for any attempt from the city council to set an expectation of accurate information from the police department.

Don’t expect the Public Safety Committee to bring anything related to this topic up. As Toomey once said in response to a resident petition for hearings on systemic racism in that committee, which she chairs, they have crime stats to look at.

A majority of elected officials will not only do absolutely nothing on oversight of police misconduct, a de facto encouragement of it, but residents who seek information to inform themselves can’t count on that data to be accurate.

The message is loud and clear: Worcester residents are on their own.

MassDOT Awards Funding for 5 Local Road Paving Projects

BOSTON – Governor Maura Healey and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) announced $50 million in funding for 34 municipalities for the paving of 217 roads across the state.

The funding from the Municipal Pavement Program supports municipally owned state-numbered routes. The program prioritizes National Highway Systems roadways.

This investment in municipal paving is about delivering significant improvements that make a difference in the lives of people across Massachusetts,” said Governor Maura Healey. “By helping cities and towns repair and maintain local roads, we’re making every day travel safer, supporting local economies, and easing the burden on municipal budgets – so residents can see and feel the impact of their government at work.”

MassDOT selects the projects the program supports based on pavement condition data the proportion of state numbered routes in poor condition in a municipality, and geographic equity.

The announcement included funding for projects in fiscal year 2027 and 2028. MassDOT did not announce the funding amounts for each project.

The Worcester County municipalities receiving funding in fiscal year 2027 include:

• Worcester – Route 122
• Leominster – Route 117
• Uxbridge – Route 98

In 2028, the local projects supported are:

• Brookfield – Route 148
• Paxton – Route 31

The other projects across the state receiving state support in fiscal year 2027:

• Cummington – Route 112
• North Adams – Route 8A
• West Stockbridge – Route 41
• Williamstown – Route 43
• Worthington – Route 112
• Agawam – Route 75
• Agawam – Route 57
• Westfield – Route 10 and Route 202
• Westhampton – Route 66
• Bedford – Route 4
• Carlisle – Route 225
• Salem – Route 114
• Harwich – Route 124
• Harwich – Route 39
• Kingston – Route 106
• Norfolk – Route 115
• Plympton – Route 58

In fiscal year 2028:

• Adams – Route 8
• Cheshire – Route 116
• Savoy – Route 116
• Hadley – Route 47
• Northampton – Route 66
• Springfield – Route 141
• Sudbury – Route 27
• Billerica – Route 129
• Georgetown – Route 133
• Rowley – Route 133
• Brewster – Route 137
• Bridgewater – Route 104
• Truro – Route 6A
• Newton – Route 30

Worcester Public Library’s Top Items Borrowed in 2025

WORCESTER – The Worcester Public Library (WPL) announced on Monday, Dec. 16, that its total volume of items loaned exceeded 600,000 in 2025.

WPL also released its top ten borrowed items for kids, teens, and adults tin 2025.

“We remain focused on connecting our patrons with the books that matter to them, whether it’s a blockbuster bestseller, a cherished children’s series, or the latest installment in a popular graphic novel,” said Tressa Santillo, Director for Library Innovation and Public Services. “With more than 600,000 items borrowed in 2025, this year’s top checkouts offer a clear snapshot
of the titles that engaged readers of all ages across our community.”

Here are the three top-ten lists:

Top 10 loaned items for kids

1. “Dog Man: Big Jim Begins” by Dav Pilkey
2. “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: No Brainer” by Jeff Kinney
3. “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hot Mess” by Jeff Kinney
4. “Dog Man: Grime and Punishment” by Dav Pilkey
5. “Dog Man: Mothering Heights” by Dav Pilkey
6. “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Diper Överlöde” by Jeff Kinney
7. “Cat Kid Comic Club: Influencers” by Dav Pilkey
8. “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Greg Heffley’s Journal” by Jeff Kinney
9. “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Deep End” by Jeff Kinney
10. “Dog Man” by Dav Pilkey

Top 10 teens:

1. “Everything, Everything” by Nicola Yoon
2. “Jujutsu Kaisen, Vol. 1” by Gege Akutami
3. “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu Academy, Vol. 1” by Natsuki Hokami
4. “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” by Suzanne Collins
5. “Jujutsu Kaisen, Vol. 2” by Gege Akutami
6. “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Vol. 1” by Koyoharu Gotouge
7. “Blue Lock, Vol. 1” by Muneyuki Kaneshiro
8. “Spy x Family, Vol. 1” by Tatsuya Endō
9. “Solo” by Kwame Alexander with Mary Rand Hess
10. “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu Academy, Vol. 2” by Natsuki Hokami

Top 10 adults:

1. “The Women” by Kristin Hannah
2. “Great Big Beautiful Life” by Emily Henry
3. “We All Live Here: A Novel” by Jojo Moyes
4. “Strangers in Time” by David Baldacci
5. “The Waiting” by Michael Connelly
6. “The God of the Woods” by Liz Moore
7. “Nightshade: A Novel” by Michael Connelly
8. “Lies He Told Me” by James Patterson and David Ellis
9. “The Writer” by James Patterson and JD Barker
10. “Remarkably Bright Creatures: A Novel” by Shelby Van Pelt

Image Courtesy of Worcester Public Libary

Sheriff Lew Evangelidis’ Tips to Avoid Holiday Package Theft

WORCESTER – Worcester County Sheriff Lew Evangelidis released tips for residents to avoid package theft on Monday, Dec. 15, during the high-shipping-volume closing days of the holiday season.

“Package theft is more than an inconvenience during a season meant for celebration. It diverts valuable law enforcement resources,” said Worcester County Sheriff Lew Evangelidis. “When residents take simple steps to safeguard their deliveries, it helps us focus our efforts on the emergencies and critical calls that matter most.”

Evangelidis recommends the following strategies to help reduce the risk of package theft:

• Track Your Packages: Use Amazon’s real-time Map Tracking feature on Amazon.com or the Amazon app to see exactly when a delivery will arrive.
• Choose Hidden Drop-Off Spots: Provide delivery instructions through the Amazon app or website to have packages placed in a discreet location.
• Use Pickup Locations: Amazon offers more than 25,000 secure package pickup sites nationwide, allowing customers to choose delivery to home, work, Amazon Lockers, or partner locations.
• Share Tracking: Amazon’s Share Tracking tool allows you to share delivery details with trusted friends or family who can retrieve packages if you’re not home.
• Check Delivery Photos: Review the confirmation photo provided by Amazon to verify where your package was placed.
• Select a Delivery Window: In areas where Same-Day Delivery is available, customers may choose a specific delivery window that best fits their schedule.

If you experience the theft of a package, Evangelidis advises to:

• Report the theft to your local police department.
• Contact Amazon Customer Service through the app or website for 24/7 assistance.
• Check with neighbors to see if they received your package by mistake or noticed any suspicious activity.

Evangelidis’ partnered with Amazon for the public awareness campaign on package theft, which included a PSA, found below.

See the Neighborhood Meetings This Week in Worcester

WORCESTER – The Worcester Police Department is encouraging residents to attend their neighborhood watch meetings to stay up-to-date on what’s happening in their neighborhoods and to share any concerns or questions they may have. Representatives from the city also regularly attend these neighborhood meetings.

There are over 50 Neighborhood Watch Groups in Worcester. Meetings are held regularly — often once a month in various locations in the city.

Contact the Worcester Police Department’s Neighborhood Response Team at (508) 799-8664 for more information.

Here are the neighborhood meetings this week in Worcester.

Wednesday, Dec. 17

• Indian Lake Neighborhood Meeting, Worcester Business Center, 67 Millbrook St. – 6 PM

Thursday, Dec. 18

• Mill St Area Neighborhood Meeting, Stearns Tavern, 72 Coes St. – 6 PM
• Union Hill Neighborhood Crime Watch Meeting, 21 Providence St., 6 PM

The Extreme Views of Worcester’s Self-Proclaimed Moderates

Since the completion of the recount of the 2025 at-large city council election and the announcement of the results, a narrative about the next city council has emerged. The next council, so the narrative goes, is more “moderate,” less “progressive,” more “practical,” and focused on “local issues.”

Through the lense of the binary thinking we characterize politics in, a result of the two-party monopoly of the political system across the country, there may be some truth to that. The majority coalition within the council began the term ending Dec. 31 with a 6-5 majority. Councilor At-Large Thu Nguyen’s absence left the majority with a 6-4 advantage.

The next council appears an 8-3 majority for the self-proclaimed “moderates,” though I expect Gary Rosen to fill the “swing vote” role filled by retiring Councilor George Russel for many years.

Civilian Review Board on New Council’s Docket

With the Worcester Regional Research Bureau report, which recommended the city establish a civilian review board, and a report from City Manager Eric Batista on a civilian review board (CRB) likely to be before the council early next year, much of the mystery of what will happen is gone.

Anyone with thoughts that the next council will enact a civilian review board (CRB) as an independent oversight mechanism of the Worcester Police Department is delusional.

At-Large incumbents Kate Toomey and Moe Bergman have openly said they oppose a CRB, as has At-Large Councilor-Elect Rosen. District Councilors-Elect Tony Economou, John Fresolo, and Jose Rivera have said the same. That’s six votes, a majority, right there.

Mayor Joe Petty has opposed a CRB throughout his record-setting tenure, though he says he will consider the Worcester Regional Research Bureau (WRRB) report.

Satya Mitra also says he’ll give the concept consideration. That’s hard to believe. Mitra is ex officio chair of the board of the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce and has long been involved in the organization. Given the total tantrum Worcester Chamber CEO Tim Murray threw in response to the WRRB report, it’s hard to see Mitra being in favor of it.

Even in the best-case scenario as viewed by supporters of a CRB, the vote still fails.

The Goal of Oversight is Not Shared

Anti-CRB councilors have made their positions clear. They are against civilian review. I’ll address the talking points they use, and the disinformation within them, below.

I don’t have a problem with the opposition to civilian review. I have written and said many times that I’m not particularly enthusiastic about a civilian review board. They don’t have a track record of effectiveness in many municipalities across the country, often because they are designed to fail by limiting their authority. Many are advisory, which means they write reports that get sent to the police chief. Those reports then meet their permanent home in the “round file,” the trash basket.

I have also written and said multiple times I support the establishment of a municipal Office of the Inspector General in Worcester. Such an office would have a staff with a mixture of skills in investigations, law, accounting, and other municipal government-related experience. Its jurisdiction would extend well beyond the police and across city government. In my view, its mission would be conducting the official investigation of city government into allegations of misconduct by any city employee or contractor and proactively seeking to uncover corruption, waste, fraud and abuse. Inspector generals are critical in every federal government agency, including all branches of the military, the FBI, and the intelligence services. There is also an inspector general for state government in Massachusetts.

Oversight is apple pie-level American and built into the U.S. Constitution. While they didn’t specifically use the word oversight, the founders of the United States implicitly believed in the concept as a tool to reign in executive power. The origins of oversight long predate the U.S. Some historians consider the Magna Carta of the 13th century as the first codification of oversight by enabling a mechanism to ensure the King of England complied with its provisions.

In short, oversight is undeniably a founding principle well worth respecting and continuing.

As I advocate for something other than a CRB, but value the long tradition of oversight in American governance philosophy, I suggested an alternative form of oversight. That seems reasonable to me.

Yet we haven’t seen a single alternative proposal from the elected officials who oppose it.

That begs the question: What is it they are actually opposed to?

Opposition to Any Oversight

Those who oppose civilian review often raise concerns about civilians without experience or training in police operations making judgements about the execution of police operations. There are important questions about who becomes the appointing authority for members of a CRB and the qualifications required. Synthesizing a web of municipal policies, state law, and best practices and applying to a real-life scenario is a complex endeavor. There are arguments of merit there.

However, of the combined 11 councilors across the current city council and the city council that takes office in January that oppose civilian review, exactly zero have brought forth an alternative oversight concept to a civilian review board.

The posture of fighting against a CRB, but bringing forth no legitimate alternative, is not opposition to only a CRB. It is opposition to any oversight at all.

Given the history of oversight embedded in American governance, and with its origins in medieval Europe, there is no argument to categorize anti-oversight as anything but extreme and authoritarian. It certainly isn’t moderate.

With the council’s long dismissal of the separation of powers, another core American governance value, and its attack on resident participation in proceedings of the council, almost entirely ending resident petitions to the council, this opposition to oversight is entirely on brand.

Major Historical Milestones of Oversight

Oversight is a check on executive power. While the use of the word “oversight” is rather modern, scholars frequently consider its origins from the 13th century.

On June 15, 1215, King John of England sealed the royal charter called the Magna Carta (translation: The Great Charter). For the first time, there were some controls on feudal taxes. It also guaranteed some due process rights, established requirements for judges, provided restitution for those treated unjustly under the law, and more.

The Magna Carta also established a council of 25 barons to monitor the King’s compliance with its provisions.

In colonial America, checks on the power of the crown continually emerged leading up to the American Revolution. Colonial assemblies and governors’s councils acted as checks on legislative and executive power. In the years leading up to the war, Committees of Correspondence collected intelligence on royal officials and documented abuses. Committees of Inspection enforced boycotts, investigated violations, and applied local sanctions. Committees of Safety began replacing royal authority while town committees oversaw enforcement of taxes and investigated officials.

In the Articles of Confederation, which provided no executive or courts, and ultimately found impractical, consensus controlled Congress as a means of a system of checks and balances.

The core, fundamental civics principle within the U.S. Constitution is a means of oversight. Each branch of government with a distinct, exclusive role is oversight. The ability of Congress to conduct legislative inquiry as part of its appropriations responsibility, which the Worcester City Council does absolutely none of, is a direct oversight of the executive branch.

Manipulations, Disinformation and Bad Ideas

In an effort to preserve the status quo and do nothing to mitigate the nonstop stream of civil rights settlements and judgements forced upon taxpayers, or the violations of rights that lead to that hijacking of the city coffers, some councilors have suggested existing systems work well. These arguments are, to put it nicely, spurious. .

POST Will Do Our Job For Us

I challenge the next council to request a representative from the Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission to appear virtually at a regular meeting of the city council for a single question:

Is the POST Commission intended to replace local oversight?

There is only one reason to refuse to make this request. They already know the answer.

The primary operational purpose of the POST Commission is to execute a certification program that enables individuals to serve as law enforcement officers in Massachusetts. It also conducts an enforcement program that can revoke those certifications. While it can conduct its own investigations, it primarily relies on the findings of municipalities in making those decisions.

In its 2024 annual report issued in March 2025, the POST Commission reported a staff of 49 individuals. The POST Commission doesn’t have anywhere near the resources to manage investigations of misconduct and discipline for 351 municipalities.

The POST Commission also sets officer training standards and acts as an oversight mechanism in cases of misconduct. It sets standards for the local oversight the city council refuses to conduct or enable.

The POST Commission website has a complaint form where individuals can file complaints against officers. That page, above the form, includes the following:

What happens once I submit a complaint?

When you submit a complaint, we review your complaint, notify the agency about a complaint against one of their police officers, and either decide to investigate immediately or wait for the agency to investigate first.

We may share the information in your complaint with the agency to help them investigate. This could include your contact information, description of the complaint, and any files you included.

Then we can investigate the matter more or accept the agency’s decision for the police officer.

If we investigate and decide to take action against the police officer, we can suspend or decertify the police officer, or require them to take additional training.

(emphasis added)

It refers complaints it receives to the municipal agency. The municipality is the primary investigating agency. The investigating agency, which collects the evidence, is the municipal police department.

POST is not going to do it for you, councilors.

The Worcester Telegram & Gazette reported on Oct. 27 that “Bergman referenced the POST Commission and said it does the job a civilian review board would do.”

No, it does not. Its limited capacity makes that impossible. Unless it finds reason to open an investigation, it does not assess the evidence.

That same Telegram article says, “Toomey also said, ‘the state’s POST program has worked well.”

It has, but its job is not determining the facts; it reviews the municipal department’s determination.

Prove me wrong, councilors. Invite a representative from POST to a council meeting and ask them if they are intended to replace local oversight.

Bureau of Professional Standards (BOPS)

The BOPS unit sits within the police department and acts as the internal investigatory arm for officer misconduct. It is not independent; it is people who work together investigating each other. It has a long history of lies and manipulation. Toomey constantly speaks of it like it’s credible, but refuses to look at a shred of evidence of its long history of widespread failure.

The last time I spoke with Councilor Toomey and attempted to refer her to the writings of a federal judge in the Natale Cosenza case, which clearly displays the vast contradictions between testimony under oath of an officer in Cosenza’s criminal case when compared to the same officer’s testimony in Cosenza’s civil case. I got an eye-roll and told that she “is focused on the future.”

Under Chief of Police Paul Saucier, BOPS appears to have improved. Some officers faced accountablility through the department’s own initiative. We have yet to see a case that is anything close to the serious cases that emerged over the last six years. That doesn’t mean there aren’t cases. It just means there aren’t lawsuits yet publicly known.

The same Oct. 27 Telegram article says that Bergman “also said other professions, including lawyers and doctors are overseen by colleagues, not those from other professions, and believes the same should go for officers.”

Peer review isn’t done by coworkers in any profession. When a scientist writes a paper, it doesn’t get published because he hands it to the scientist he works with and knows. Peer review requires independent oversight, which a majority of councilors oppose.

The same article also said that Bergman “also said that it would be impossible for members of the {civilian review} board to be “purely objective,” and that “everyone has bias.”

Sure, everyone has bias. Including police officers when investigating officers in their own department.

No organization in all of human history has effectively policed itself. It won’t start working now.

The Human Rights Commission

In that same article, both Councilor-elect Rivera and Toomey referred to the Human Rights Commission as having sufficient oversight capability.

When the city manager can unilaterally declare that the Human Rights Commission must stop any police oversight work, as he did in 2023, that’s not an oversight mechanism, nor is it a shred of independence.

The Human Rights Commission was once a strong, independent entity. In the 1970s, it sued the city twice in defense of its rights under the ordinance that established it to investigate police misconduct. It won in both cases.

While the Human Rights Commission has subpoena power, the city council rendered that power useless in the 1990s when it restructured the ordinance that delegates power to the commission. Today, the ordinance requires the commission to work through the city solicitor, an appointee of the city manager, to use that power. The manager is the top law enforcement official in the city. The city charter defines the manager as the Chief Conservator of the Peace.

That’s more investigating themselves, an obvious conflict of interest.

DEI Department

This is the most laughable aspect of the argument raised by anti-oversight extremists. What in the world does the DEI department know about investigating policing? One would think this has all the pitfalls of concerns about a lack of experience with a Civilian Review Board.

There is a reason they don’t voice those concerns. The leader of that department, Chief Equity Officer Kevin Lovaincy, is an appointee of the City Manager.

Again, no independence.

In the same October Telegram article, Toomey also mentioned:

• Random body camera audits – Internal police department function (not independent)
• Police Policy Review Committee – Internal police department function (not independent)
• Accreditation process – nothing to do with investigating misconduct

These arguments are all absurd.

The reality is simple. The most extreme view within the police department demands anything but the status quo is “anti-police sentiment.” These people, who advance these absurd arguments, think they know better than everything Western civilization has learned in the last 800 years about governance.

It is the furthest thing from moderate. It is an extremist view that a government is only accountable to itself, not the governed.

Worcester Public Health Medical Director Dr. Michael Hirsh Retires

WORCESTER – After 13 years serving as the City of Worcester Public Health Medical Director, Dr. Michael Hirsh announced he will retire on Dec. 12.

Hirsh became widely known in Worcester during the pandemic, serving as public information officer and leading over 200 press conferences alongside then-City Manager Ed Augustus and Mayor Joe Petty. He also played an instrumental role in the Worcester Department of Public Health becoming the first in the state to earn national accreditation.

Hirsh says his proudest moments during his tenure as medical director of the city were his tenure during the pandemic and “helping to train the Vaccine Corps of medical students who helped administer the COVID vaccine beginning in January 2021.”

After growing up in New York City as the only son of survivors of the Holocaust, Hirsh attended medical school at Harvard University and graduated in 1979. He completed his surgical residencies at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center and Temple University’s St. Christopher Hospital for Children.

While at Columbia, Hirsh lost a close friend and co-worker to gun violence. Hirsh personally provided medical assistance to his friend at the scene of the shooting. That experience led Hirsh to lead gun violence prevention efforts, including co-founding the Goods for Guns Buyback program in Pittsburgh in 1994. He founded a similar program in Worcester in 2002 which continues annually.

Hirsh He first joined UMass Memorial in 1986. He practiced for nine years in Pittsburgh and the rest of his career in Worcester.

“UMass Memorial Health deeply appreciates Dr. Michael Hirsh’s service as Medical Director for the Worcester Division of Public Health and the positive impact his leadership has had on the community over the last 13 years,” said Eric Dickson, MD, President and CEO of UMass Memorial Health. “We are working closely with the WDPH to identify a successor and remain fully committed to supporting the health and wellness of Worcester residents through our continued partnership.”

Hirsh continues to serve as the Assistant Vice Provost for Health and Wellness and the Chief Quality Officer for the Department of Surgery at the UMass Chan School of Medicine.

Image Credit: UMass Chan Medical School 

Brockton Man Arrested in Auburn for Human Trafficking

AUBURN – Detectives arrested a man in Auburn on Monday for human trafficking and other charges.

Another jurisdiction had released the man, Dario Arron Hamlin-Baxter, 30, of Brockton, on bail for unrelated charges.

The Auburn Police Department says its detectives learned of online advertising of the services of a commercial sex worker for a fee. While communicating with the contact listed within the advertisement, the detectives positively identified the identity of the woman they were communicating with.

The detectives arranged a meeting with the woman in Auburn. Upon arrival at the scene, Hamlin-Baxter and the woman were detained and separated for questioning. That investigation led to the arrest of Hamlin-Baxter on charges of:

Worcester Announces Winter Overflow Shelter on Oriol Drive

WORCESTER – The City of Worcester announced on Thursday the opening of a temporary winter overflow shelter at 50 Oriol Drive, the former site of Quality Inn & Suites, on Dec. 15. The city says the location will remain open through April.

The facility will feature 36 beds in 18 former hotel rooms, with two individuals per room. The South Middlesex Opportunity Council (SMOC) will manage the location, which will be open 24 hours per day with a security guard on site at all times.

SMOC will process all intakes for the facility at its 25 Queen Street location.

The city also says that SMOC will assist individuals at the Oriol Drive location by providing the following services:

• Intensive case management;
• Referrals to treatment programs;
• Referrals to permanent supportive housing;
• Assistance with stabilizing medical and behavioral health needs;
• Obtaining photo IDs;
• Applying and following up on benefit applications; and
• Assistance with workforce development and finding employment.

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