What does BLM mean for Waltham?

In June of 2020, more than 1,000 people marched through Waltham in support of Black Lives Matter. The march was part of a nationwide uprising, sparked by the murder of George Floyd and a seemingly endless list of Black people killed by police throughout the US in recent years.

This is a national issue, but police policy is primarily controlled at the local level. Citizens in many communities know very little about how their local department operates or why, and that is part of the reason they are shocked when a violent incident is caught on video. For that reason, many of us in Waltham feel a responsibility to educate ourselves about Waltham PD.

If you ask around Waltham, you will likely find that many people have positive things to say about Waltham PD based on their personal experiences. You may also find that many people, including some elected officials, are uncomfortable with you asking questions.

Even people who say they support Black Lives Matter may be unwilling to consider that national issues with policing could be issues in Waltham. State Rep. and City Councilor Tom Stanley made the following comment while voting in favor of the city’s BLM resolution:

“It’s real important to send a message that Black lives matter but also that our police department by all accounts has been doing a very good job … All of the horrendous things that we’re hearing about happening around the country that just make my heart sink, they don’t happen here. We should recognize that.”

In Waltham many families are terrified that their loved ones will be harmed or killed by police because they are Black or part of another group that is vulnerable to police violence, based on what we see on the national level. Many of us do not have personal experience with Waltham PD. Should we take the word of leaders who say these kinds of things don’t happen here, based on their personal experience?

We shouldn’t have to. Citizens need access to information that can tell us whether there are problems, and we need elected leaders willing to address those problems. It shouldn’t take a shocking incident caught on video for civilian leaders to start asking questions.

Increasing Transparency

Around the time of the Waltham BLM march, several Waltham citizens made requests to the city for records pertaining to Waltham PD. They received some of what they asked for, but in most cases the city requested fees that the requestors were unable to pay.

In June the Public Works and Public Safety Committee of the Waltham City Council voted unanimously to recommend that the full City Council approve the BLM resolution (so far they have not). At Councilor Jonathan Paz’s suggestion they also made a request that Waltham PD release certain information to the public, including data on race and use of force. In early September, Waltham PD provided the committee with most but not all of the information requested.

All of this information can now be accessed by the public in an online repository maintained by citizens. The repository also contains a large collection of news articles pertaining to Waltham PD. Local citizens and organizations can use this information to start conversations about the police that are based on documented facts instead of personal impressions.

Waltham Police Department Public Information

Questions Raised by the Data

The first task of Waltham Black Future Fund’s Public Safety Committee was to review the documents released by Waltham PD to see what we could learn from them. Much of the data is presented with little or no context. But in some of the data, there appear to be serious racial disparities.

For example, the report on use-of-force shows that about 19% of use-of-force incidents involve a Black civilian. Since Black people make up about 8% of Waltham population, this suggests Black civilians are more than twice as likely as the general population to be involved in a use-of-force incident.

However, the data is presented in a way that makes it difficult to confirm that this interpretation is correct. For example, there is no “Hispanic” or “Latino” category in the racial data.

In late November we sent an e-mail to Police Chief MacPherson asking him to provide additional information that would allow us to correctly interpret this data. So far we have not heard back. You can read our e-mail here:

Follow-up Questions for Waltham PD

Who Oversees Waltham PD?

If a citizen makes a complaint about a Waltham police officer, the complaint will be evaluated by a senior officer. The senior officer makes a decision about the complaint that is final-- if the person who filed the complaint disagrees, their only recourse is to sue.

Waltham does not currently have any community review process for the police. Every few years Waltham PD is evaluated and accredited by a team of professionals who are experts on the world of policing, but not members of the Waltham community.

Waltham has two police unions, one for patrolmen and one for superior officers. The city’s contracts with those unions set many of the rules about how the department is run, including the conditions under which the chief or other police leaders can discipline officers. If the union disagrees with their decision, they can bring it before an arbiter who can overturn the discipline.

Those contracts, as well as the police budget, are usually negotiated between the mayor’s office and police leadership behind closed doors. They must be approved by the City Council, which usually votes in favor with little or no debate. In a City Council meeting this summer, the Council was asked to approve new contracts, and Councilor Kristine Mackin made an unsuccessful attempt to delay the vote until the community had time to review and discuss them. During that discussion, several councilors claimed that they have no role in oversight of the police-- that’s entirely the mayor’s job.

In fact, the Council has made decisions that limit the mayor’s ability to make changes in the police department. For example, by Waltham ordinance, the chief of police is appointed for life, and must be promoted from within the department. When a chief retired in 2007, the mayor asked the Council to make an exception so she could consider chief candidates from other towns. They said no, citing the fact that the police unions did not support it.

This ambiguity about who makes the rules for police is alarming. We need our elected leaders to provide responsible oversight, as they do for other city departments, even when they do not see glaring evidence of a problem. It shouldn’t take a shocking incident caught on video to make them pay attention.

Building a Citywide Discussion

Our committee intends to take part in community meetings with Waltham PD where we can follow up on the questions raised by the data. We are also researching the following topics that we believe ought to be part of the public discussion:

  • Establishing a civilian review process for Waltham PD

  • Re-evaluating the role of School Resource Officers (police in schools)

  • Police hiring policies and representation

  • Using city services other than police to address problems such as homelessness, addiction, and mental illness

These discussions will only lead to real changes if we have elected officials who are willing to ask questions and, if necessary, make changes that are not supported by the police union. In November, we hope to elect City Council and School Committee Members who are committed to addressing police issues. To make this possible, we need more people around Waltham asking questions about police, so it is clear to candidates that this is an issue our community cares about.

What You Can do to Help

  • Get in touch about joining our volunteer committee. (E-mail)

  • Check out the info available in the online repository, find facts that you think are important, and share them with your social networks. (Link)

  • Show up for community events with Waltham PD and ask questions. (We’ll post these on WBFF social media.)

  • Show up for City Council or other city meetings where police issues will be discussed and make public comments. (We’ll post these on WBFF social media.)

  • Consider running for a city position, or encouraging a neighbor to run. (Start by checking out this guide.)

  • Most important: Plan ahead to vote in the November 2021 local election for candidates who are committed to addressing police issues. (We’ll post what we know about the candidates on WBFF social media.)

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