Police reform advocate grades Massachusetts POST Commission, cites concerns

Since its creation more than four years ago, the Massachusetts police oversight commission has certified thousands of officers as fit for duty, and expelled 61 from the profession for lawbreaking or other egregious misconduct.

The commission’s establishment after the nationwide racial justice protests of 2020 was an effort by state lawmakers to set consistent standards for local policing and to place departments and officers under closer state supervision

Most other states already had similar watchdog commissions, many using the same acronym as Massachusetts — POST, for Peace Officer Standards and Training.

In a “report card” released this week examining POST agencies in 10 states, Carlton T. Mayers II, an attorney who has worked on police reform across the country, including for the NAACP, gave the Massachusetts commission mostly passing grades.

Of the nine evaluated standards, Mayers identified three areas needing improvement: accessibility of meetings to the public, ability to investigate complaints against officers independent of their departments and transparency on ongoing decertification investigations.

However, the standards by which Mayers graded were not abundantly clear from his relatively brief report. Further, the realities of the commission’s operations leave more room for nuance than the simple “pass” and “fail” judgment Mayers offered.

“While we recognize the intent behind the document, the author, who we are not familiar with, offers broad conclusions with little or no explanation of the reasons for different grades,” Enrique Zuniga, POST Commission executive director, said in a statement Friday. “Without these details, it is difficult to assess the methodology and conclusions.”

Mayers’ evaluation focused on the commission’s mechanism and process for decertifying officers and whether they were up to a standard he found suitable.

Decertification proceedings are only one aspect of the Massachusetts agency’s work.

The nine-member commission, chaired by retired Superior Court Judge Margaret Hinkle, oversees a staff of dozens who develop standards that all police in Massachusetts must follow, certify officers, investigate misconduct and conduct disciplinary proceedings, which can lead to decertification.

More than 400 police agencies fall under its purview, from the 2,000-member Massachusetts State Police to small town departments with just a handful of officers.

Access to commission meetings

Regarding access to commission meetings, the first standard on which Mayers faulted the commission, he wrote that “public access to POST Commission meetings empowers individuals to engage and contribute to accountability processes.”

It was unclear from his evaluation whether he was referring to the commission’s regular monthly meetings or its disciplinary hearings, known as adjudicatory proceedings.

The monthly meetings are public and streamed live on Zoom, with recordings posted online.

The adjudicatory proceedings are typically open to the public and also streamed online.

In about a half-dozen cases, including recent decertification proceedings against an officer tied to the Sandra Birchmore case in Stoughton, the commission has closed the hearings to protect victims of sexual assault or other violent crimes, or because of the sensitivity of some evidence.

Even in those cases, notice of the closed-door hearing is posted online in advance.

“The POST Commission acknowledges the significant public interest in adjudicatory proceedings,” Zuniga said. “Most adjudicatory proceedings are open to the public.”

After the hearings, as commissioners debate the discipline of the officers involved, deliberations are conducted in executive session — behind closed doors.

Mayers said his assessments are based on how closely the commissions aligned with his trademarked CAT Method, which stands for Community Empowerment, Accountability and Transparency.

He stresses the need for community engagement in the decertification process, strong accountability measures at police departments and external oversight over their disciplinary process, and thorough transparency between law enforcement, their government, their community and the media.

Independent investigations

Mayers also faulted the commission on whether it has the power to investigate complaints against police officers independent of the departments that employ them.

“The POST Commissions that investigate complaints and notices of violations of certification independent of law enforcement agencies are aligned with the CAT Method because this builds trust by demonstrating structural independence from law enforcement agencies and responsiveness to public concern,” Mayers wrote.

However, contrary to Mayers’ assessment, the commission does have the power to launch investigations into officer misconduct independent of law enforcement agencies. It does so through formal preliminary inquiries — the commission’s term for investigations — or less formal staff review, Zuniga said.

The commission currently has 84 active preliminary inquiries.

Commission regulations require police departments, or independent investigators they hire, to complete investigations of any credible reports of misconduct against their officers.

Commissioners can also initiate an investigation into an officer at any time, regardless of whether the officer’s department has already ordered an investigation.

Transparency of investigations

The final area for improvement Mayers identified was whether the commission “provides information on ongoing decertification investigations (like an open database and/or integrity report).”

“The P.O.S.T. Commissions that provide information on ongoing decertification investigations to the public are aligned with the CAT Method because public updates hold decision-makers accountable to progress and fairness,” he wrote.

The commission provides notice when an officer is suspended, indicating they are under investigation and could face decertification.

But the commission does not explicitly say when it initiates an investigation or how far along an investigation is. Its investigations are confidential by law, Zuniga said.

Once an investigation concludes, notices of any discipline or disciplinary hearings are posted online. At this stage, the commission also releases some information on the allegations against the officers.

Often, the commission redacts its orders to protect officer information, including details on criminal charges that may be found in public court files or already reported in the press.

Mayers’ personal bio said he has lobbied for criminal justice reform in more than 30 states and on Capitol Hill, where he said he worked with Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and late Rep. John Conyers, Jr., D-MI. He was policy counsel for the Policing Reform Campaign at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

The POST Commission has faced criticism for its transparency in the past, including from police reform and First Amendment advocates in Massachusetts over the amount of information it releases to the public.

In 2023, it published a database of thousands of officer disciplinary records, as required by law. But critics argued that the dataset obscured serious misconduct by some officers, sanitizing their cases with mundane language. Police groups, meanwhile, criticized the database’s accuracy, saying it included too much information, muddying the reputations of officers who committed minor rule violations.

Separately, critics argued against closing the June decertification hearing of Robert Devine, the former Stoughton deputy police chief accused of having an inappropriate relationship with Sandra Birchmore, who had been part of a police youth program, before her death. Matthew Farwell, another former Stoughton officer, is charged with killing her.

The Devine hearing was closed to protect confidential evidence and “the identity of an individual,” the judge presiding over the hearing said.

However, some open government advocates criticized the decision for restricting access to a hearing of significant public interest, particularly in a case that had been widely reported on in the press.

The commission was created “to increase transparency and accountability” in law enforcement, Justin Silverman, executive director of the New England First Amendment Coalition, said in June.

“You’ve got this horrible case that’s going to be heard behind closed doors,” he said. “That strikes me as out of step with why the commission was created.”