Massachusetts State Police fire back after police officers push for review of embattled agency

The Massachusetts State Police blasted a push by a local law enforcement group for a state review of the embattled agency.

MSP is touting its series of reforms to “maintain and strengthen the public’s trust” in response to  the Massachusetts Association for Professional Law Enforcement again proposed a Blue Ribbon commission to take a close look at MSP.

Staties have been on the wrong side of the law time and time again in recent years. Troopers earlier this year were charged in federal court on bribery charges linked to commercial driver’s licenses. Staties in past years have been in hot water over overtime abuse.

The law enforcement group MAPLE cited a “crisis of confidence” facing MSP when it resubmitted the Blue Ribbon commission request to Gov. Maura Healey on Monday.

In response to the review proposal from MAPLE’s president, a spokesperson for MSP listed 16 reforms, initiatives and programs that the department has enacted in recent years.

“Since 2018, under the leadership of three progressive and proactive Colonels, this Department has implemented numerous substantial… initiatives, reforms, and programs to increase accountability, efficiency, operational capability, and to maintain and strengthen the public’s trust,” MSP spokesperson Dave Procopio said in a statement.

“The letter author (MAPLE President Dennis Galvin) is either somehow unaware of these achievements or, apparently, is ignoring them for whatever reason,” Procopio later added.

Those reforms and initiatives include MSP establishing more rigorous reporting and documentation procedures for officers working traffic enforcement overtime shifts, he said.

“Establishment of routine payroll audits at multiple supervisory levels, including barracks and unit commanders, division commanders, and OPIA (Office of Professional Integrity and Accountability) random audits,” the MSP spokesperson said.

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Other changes include adding GPS systems in all MSP department vehicles — increasing supervisory capabilities, accountability, and officer safety. MSP has also implemented body-worn and cruiser cameras throughout the agency.

In 2018, MAPLE pitched a Blue Ribbon commission to Gov. Charlie Baker, and the group is now pushing for it again.

“The crisis of confidence facing the Massachusetts State Police strikes at the very heart of the public’s trust and confidence in our state government,” MAPLE’s president wrote in the letter to Healey on Monday. “This matter must not be taken lightly. It is absolutely imperative that a review of the State Police be conducted promptly, competently, impartially and comprehensively.

“To do less, is to betray a legacy of fair and open government, for which this Commonwealth has long been known,” he added. “Our organization stands ready to assist you in any way that we can.”

MAPLE’s president recommended that a potential commission get the authority to compel witness testimony and produce records about the management structure and practices of Mass State Police.

Also, Galvin requested that the hearings be open to the public, and that appointees to the commission would have “minimal ties to the Massachusetts political establishment.”

A spokesperson for Healey did not issue a statement in response to the letter about a Blue Ribbon commission, and referred to MSP for comment.

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