After pressure, Boston police agree to disclose names of arrested officers

Howard Friedman is quoted in this article in the Boston Globe: Boston police agree to release names of arrested officers. After pressure from the Globe and community members, Boston Police Commissioner William Evans has agreed that from now on, when officers are arrested for crimes such as drunk driving, the department will release their names to the public. This is a step towards ending the double standard that protects police officers when they break the law. Click here and here to read our past blog posts about this double standard.

That’s What You Get for Filming the Police

Here’s an excellent article on the epidemic of police retaliation against people who film them: That’s What You Get for Filming the Police. Filming the police is a clearly established First Amendment right – thanks in part to our firm’s victory in the federal appeals court for the First Circuit, Glik v. Cunniffe. But despite this opinion, police continue to harass, intimidate, arrest or assault people who record them. And police continue to confiscate or destroy the cameras of, and delete the footage taken by people who film them. The article correctly lays much of the blame for this problem on the failure of police departments to discipline officers who violate civilians’ constitutional right to record the police.

Blue Shield: Did you know police have their own Bill of Rights?

Police officers get special protection—their own “Bill of Rights.” This article by Eli Hager at The Marshall Project explains how police unions have obtained special legislation to give police officers who are accused of misconduct rights far beyond those of the rest of us. Police officers get a “cooling off” period after an incident with time to speak to their lawyers and union representatives before writing reports or being interviewed about an incident. If a civilian exercises his or her right to speak to an attorney, those same police officers take that as a sign of guilt. If only the guilty need time to get their thoughts together, why do police officers get this special treatment? This article explains the way these laws shield police officers from the consequences of their misconduct.

Howard organizes seminar with the civil rights committee of the Massachusetts FBA

On April 8, 2015, Howard assisted the civil rights committee of the Massachusetts FBA in organizing a seminar on litigating federal civil rights cases. The speakers were Professor Karen Blum of Suffolk Law School, a co-author of the treatise “Police Misconduct: Law and Litigation,” and Massachusetts Federal District Judge Timothy Hillman, who trains new magistrate judges on handling civil rights cases. Howard assisted in organizing the program as a member of the Board of Directors of the Federal Bar Association’s Massachusetts chapter. 

 Professor Karen Blum, Howard Friedman, Michelle Hinckley and Judge Hillman

Public radio program discusses the right to record police officers

The right to record police officers is discussed in this program from WNYC, a public radio station in New York. The discussion focuses on Glik v. Cunniffe, the case our firm handled in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, which makes it crystal clear that the public has a First Amendment right to record police officers performing their public duties in public. We hope that those federal appeals courts that have yet to decide this issue will also recognize the important right to videotape police officers in a public space.

Settlement of class action about male guards filming strip searches of female prisoners at the Chicopee Jail

We are pleased to report that last Thursday, U.S. District Court Judge Michael Ponsor granted preliminary approval of the settlement in our class action lawsuit about the policy at the women’s jail in Chicopee permitting male guards to videotape female prisoners being strip searched. The settlement requires the Western Massachusetts Regional Women’s Correctional Center (“WCC”) to change its policy to prohibit male officers from filming strip searches except in an emergency. Defendants, Hampden County Sheriff Michael J. Ashe, and Patricia Murphy, head of the WCC, will pay $675,000 to settle the case. Any woman held at the WCC and videotaped by a male officer during a strip search since September 15, 2008, is a member of the class. The parties have identified 176 class members. Each class member who submits a claim form is expected to receive $1,000 or more.  

We were contacted by the lead Plaintiff, Debra Baggett, more than five years ago. Debra, who at the time was still a prisoner at the WCC, wrote that male guards routinely videotaped strip searches when women were taken to segregation (whether for disciplinary or mental health reasons). The firm receives many letters from prisoners describing many disturbing prison practices, but this one stood out.

Click to read more ...

We support the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition

The Law Offices of Howard Friedman is a proud sponsor of Professionals for Transgender Rights, tonight’s fundraising event for the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition. MTPC does vital work to protect the rights of trans people in Massachusetts. MTPC was instrumental in passing the 2011 Act Relative to Gender Identity, and is committed to getting public accommodations protections included in our state’s nondiscrimination laws.

Another of MTPC’s many accomplishments was to work with the Boston Police Department to draft a new policy that instructs officers how to properly interact with and respect transgender people. The BPD announced this policy in June of 2013, just a few months after our client, a transgender woman, agreed to accept $30,000 and a judgment against the City of Boston to resolve her claim that she was falsely arrested and subject to discrimination for using the women’s bathroom at a homeless shelter. 

Our firm represents trans people who are denied their rights, particularly when law enforcement agencies are involved.

Video MBTA tried to hide from us shows transit police officer beating our client

MBTA surveillance video we obtained through a public records suit shows MBTA Transit Police Officer Sean Conway assaulting a man immediately after pulling him from the edge of the Red Line track at Park Street Station last May. Last year the MBTA released a portion of the video showing the apparent rescue but stopped the video just before the officer punched the man, Anthony Ferrier. The MBTA denied a public records request for the full video, which it released only after we sued them in Superior Court under Public Records Law.

In a news conference on the day of the incident, May 7, 2014, Transit Police Chief Paul MacMillan called the actions of Officer Conway “tremendous” and said the agency was “very proud of him.” The MBTA posted the edited video on its blog and to other social media, and it was shown in local and national news stories.

The complete video shows the officer in a different light.

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Double standard in Massachusetts: civilians’ arrests are public while officers’ arrests are private

The Massachusetts Secretary of State has announced its view that police agencies can legally release arrest information for private citizens while withholding the same information when a police officer is arrested. Police agencies typically release the name, age, occupation and town of a private citizen who is arrested. Police departments feel this is information that should be public. A double standard protecting the privacy of police officers should not be permitted.

This special policy protecting police officers from embarrassment is improper and dangerous.

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Trial nears for alcohol policy at Gillette Stadium

Check out this article in the Boston Globe about our lawsuit challenging Foxborough’s practice of improperly taking people into protective custody: Trial nears for alcohol policy at Gillette Stadium.

Howard Friedman quoted in New Orleans Advocate article: At Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office, no haste to probe beating incident involving high school student

Howard Friedman is quoted in the New Orleans Advocate on need of law enforcement officers to investigate police misconduct even if the victim has not filed a written complaint. In the case described in the article, the misconduct was on video. Despite that, the Sheriff’s office refuses to investigate unless the victim files a written complaint. Policies like this serve to protect police officers while they endanger the public. 

Yancey calls for civilian board to investigate police misconduct

David Milton is quoted in this article in the Bay State Banner: Yancey calls for civilian board to investigate police misconduct. David states that the current system heavily favors the police.

We filed a case against Amherst police officers who arrested our client for videotaping officers at the 2014 “Blarney Blowout”

Today we filed a lawsuit in federal court on behalf of University of Massachusetts-Amherst student Thomas Donovan. The case is against Town of Amherst police officers, who Mr. Donovan alleges assaulted and falsely arrested him for videotaping police activity at the 2014 “Blarney Blowout,” an annual informal student celebration of St. Patrick’s Day and the arrival of spring.

Click here to read the complaint.

At the event, which took place March 8, 2014, Mr. Donovan saw multiple police officers using what appeared to excessive force making an arrest.

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After our lawsuit challenging the strip search of a prison visitor, the Massachusetts Department of Correction changes its regulations

Our firm has two goals in mind whenever we bring a civil rights lawsuit. We work to get our clients compensated for injuries caused by police officers or other government officials. We also try to use our lawsuits as a tool to bring about positive changes in how police departments and other agencies operate. One of our recent cases accomplished both of these goals. In response to our lawsuit challenging the strip search of a prison visitor, the Massachusetts Department of Correction (DOC) is changing its regulations to limit the circumstances in which prison officials can strip search a prison visitor.

Here’s how it happened.

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NBC 10 investigates Foxboro’s use of protective custody at Gillette stadium

NBC 10's investigative team interviewed David Milton about our firm's lawsuit challenging the town of Foxboro's practice of improperly taking people into custody during concerts and games at Gillette Stadium. Our case alleges that the police officers working at the stadium, under the direction of Chief Edward O'Leary, place people into protective custody just for showing signs of alcohol intoxication, not “incapacitation” as the law requires. The case goes to trial later this year. Watch the story here: NBC 10 I-Team: Thousands of fans jailed at Gillette.

False arrest and excessive force case against Bellingham Police settles for $55,000

Our client Holly Graham recently settled her claims against two officers from Bellingham, Massachusetts for $55,000. On October 6, 2012, officers David Ayotte and John Melanson entered her home without a warrant and falsely arrested her using unreasonable force. The settlement included an unusual requirement that the officers travel to court to watch a video that Ms. Graham had recorded for them, in which she described how the incident made her feel.

Read more in this article from the Milford Daily News.

Ms. Graham’s full video of this incident is available at http://youtu.be/6Z-qnPEKrkU.

Boston Police create a double standard to protect drunk-driving officers from public accountability

The Boston Police Department is refusing to release the names of at least five Boston police officers who have been arrested for drunk driving. Although this information should be available under the Massachusetts public records statute, and other police departments provided the names of their officers, the Boston Police Department is withholding the names of its officers who were discovered driving drunk. This improperly protects Boston police officers from public scrutiny.

Consider other jobs that rely on operating a vehicle, such as driving a truck, a school bus, or a taxicab. If any of these drivers are arrested for operating under the influence, the police department would release the information to the public. The drivers would likely be prohibited from driving until the criminal case was over as well.

When civilians are arrested, their names routinely appear in the newspapers and on the internet.

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Reflections on MLK Day, police brutality, and the racist roots of police unions

As we reflect on the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and other civil rights activists, we recognize that the truth Dr. King spoke in his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech in 1963 remains a crucial demand of the movement over 50 years later: “We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality.”

We remember the power that police exerted—and continue to exert—against civil rights movements. We acknowledge the role of police unions in preventing meaningful police reform and protecting police officers from punishment even for shocking civil rights violations, just as police unions functioned in Dr. King’s day. We recommend this article written by Chicago police misconduct attorney Flint Taylor, which describes the role police unions have played supporting the status quo and resisting the civil rights movement.

Congratulations to our former colleague Myong Joun on becoming a Judge

We are pleased to announce Myong Joun has been sworn in as a judge on the Boston Municipal Court. Myong began working for our firm as a paralegal in 1997 and he continued working at the firm as an associate attorney from 1999 to 2007, when he formed his own firm handling criminal defense cases. Myong has always been committed to seeking equal justice for all. At the firm he represented clients in civil rights cases, primarily cases for prisoners and victims of police misconduct.

Congratulations, Myong, we wish you the best!

Howard Friedman quoted in article about the use of excessive force by police

We recommend this article: Reporter: Force Under Fire - The shooting of an unarmed teenager in Missouri has sparked a national conversation about the use of excessive force by police.

The author questioned Howard Friedman about police brutality. Howard describes the difficulties in pursuing criminal charges relating to officers’ use of excessive force.