Boston, Ma- "The Police Complaint Assistance Project" is no longer associated with Suffolk University after the Boston Police pressure the University to end it's support.
"The Police Complaint Assistance Project" focuses on reporting Boston Police misconduct. The ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union of MA) sponsors the POLICE COMPLAINT ASSISTANCE PROJECT and was in partnership with Suffolk University Law Students.
Instead of acknowledging possible police bias where investigations are conducted by "Internal Affairs", the Boston police pressured an institution to end its affiliation and called the project “cop-hate baiting at its worst,’’ and "a disservice to both police and students."
Why not offer to have independent investigators look into possible accusations of police misconduct or offer similar solutions?
The Boston Police brass and union officials are furious at a Suffolk University Law School student project that the patrolmen’s union is calling “cop-hate baiting at its worst,’’ while the university has moved to distance itself from the initiative.
Fliers for the “Police Misconduct Documentation Project” and the “Police Complaint Assistance Project” were posted at the university’s campus, asking: “Have you been abused, brutalized or mistreated by the Boston Police ... ?”
Late last week, after an inquiry by the Herald, Suffolk University ordered the fliers taken down, saying the collaboration between Suffolk Law students, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Boston Black Men’s Leadership Group should not have used the law school’s logo.
Suffolk University professor Karen Blum of the Rappaport Law Center — whose pro bono program pairs students with the ACLU to file police-abuse complaints — said the language on the fliers is “regrettable” and had them removed.
“The Police Complaint Assistance Project is not a seminar in how to sue police officers, nor is it meant to be an indictment of the Boston Police Department,’’ Blum said. “The school has removed the fliers because we certainly would not endorse the word brutalized.”
Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association President Tom Nee said, “We don’t have a problem with righteous complaints, and the department has several transparent ways to file a complaint. But this project is cop-hate baiting at its worst and the language on the flier is offensive. This is essentially ‘how to sue the BPD.’ ”
BPD Commissioner Ed Davis called the project a disservice to both police and students.
“The department thoroughly investigates legitimate criticisms and encourages community feedback. We enjoy a strong collaboration with local colleges and universities, therefore a school project intimating a widespread presence of misconduct does a disservice to both the student population and the officers,’’ Davis said.
Link:
http://bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1333026&position=1