The Somerville Board of Aldermen recently considered a resolution expressing support for the Somerville Police Department, tabling the measure amid criticism that it both came at an inappropriate time and limited its coverage to just "citizens."
The Board of Aldermen decided at a meeting on March 26 to table the resolution, which came after the Somerville Journal reported earlier last month that Somerville police had allegedly harassed six Latino high school students by calling them gang members and bashing some of their heads against a cruiser.
The resolution maintains full-fledged support for the police department, even as a police investigation into the actions of the officers who the Somerville teens accused of racial profiling continues.
Eight of the 11 Board members signed the document. Some of those who refused to sign took issue with the timing of the resolution.
Alderman Rebekah Gewirtz (Ward 6), who did not sign it, said that she did not want to undermine the integrity of the police investigation.
"The resolution expresses unequivocal support regardless of the circumstances — at least that's my reading of it," Gewirtz told the Daily. "I'm extremely supportive of our police department, and I think they do a great job, but at this time, it's important that the police have the opportunity to get to the bottom of the situation."
The students told the Journal that police officers stopped them on their way home, the Journal reported in a March 19 article. One officer, they said, falsely accused them of being gang members.
Several of the students said that the officers slammed their heads against a police car, the Journal reported. Police apparently had intelligence that one of the teens belonged to the Latin Kings gang, the Journal reported on April 2.
Many aldermen have called into question the accuracy of the Journal's reporting of the incident. Somerville Deputy Chief of Police Paul Upton would not comment on the specific article, but he suggested that the Journal's reporting was not always on target.
"What's read in the newspaper is not necessary factual," Upton told the Daily. "I will speak in general terms: Mistakes are often made in newspaper articles … Pieces of a story in which the police are involved often are not factual and need to be corrected at a later time."
Alderman William Roche (Ward 1), who authored the resolution, said that it was his goal to support the police department during the investigation.
"As long as their actions are within the constraints of the law … we're behind them," he said. "If the investigation finds that it was inappropriate behavior, eventually I'll support some type of discipline, but at the same time, I want them to know that they shouldn't be shying away."
The police welcomed the board's gesture, Upton said.
"We're not foolproof," he said. "It's nice to know that some of the good things being done are getting noticed."
Alderman-at-Large John Connolly also signed the resolution.
"What we're simply doing is making sure we [stand] solidly behind the police," Connolly told the Daily.
"Quite a few were just not pleased that [the Journal article] made the police appear to be thugs," he added.
Meanwhile, the wording of the resolution — in particular, its use of the word "citizen" instead of a more inclusive term like "resident" — drew complaints from non-signing aldermen.
"Every citizen in the city has the right to feel safe and secure in his or her own city," the March 26 resolution read. "The men and woman of the Somerville Police Department have always displayed high moral and ethical standards while enforcing the law … and [i]t is recognized it is often difficult for the police to distinguish between illegal gang members, actual gang members and gang member ‘wannabees.'"
The use of the word "citizen" was not meant to favor some over others, Roche said, explaining that he had not intended to exclude residents from the resolution. He had wanted to ensure the public safety of all residents of and visitors to Somerville, he added.
"It was nothing more than an oversight," he said. "It didn't even dawn on me."
Connolly echoed Roche's "very general sense" of the citizen designation in the resolution, saying that it applied to all people of the community "who happened to live, work or play here."
Roche plans to resubmit the resolution with changed wording but said he was asked by the Somerville police chief to hold off doing so until the police investigation is complete. The chief, he said, wanted to avoid "local debate" as the investigation continued.
Somerville spokesperson Lesley Delaney Hawkins confirmed that the resolution would not be taken up again until the investigation finishes.
She added that Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone was looking forward to resolving the issue.
"He's committed to exploring the situation [and] finding out what happened," she told the Daily.
