PAX Centurion - Summer 2014

www.bppa.org PAX CENTURION • Summer 2014 • Page 33 Dougan marginalized some of the other factors, noting that the fact that this foot chase occurred after midnight was a significant factor that should have been considered by the court. TheAppeals Court found that Norfolk Street qualified as a “high crime” area and also noted the significance of OfficerAnjos’s training regarding the characteristics of people carrying guns.All of the factors that are to be considered in evaluating the propriety of a seizure must be measured at the moment in time that a reasonable person in the suspect’s position would feel they were not free to leave, which in the present case was when OfficerAnjos opened the cruiser door and called out “wait a minute.” Evaluating all of these factors together, including “OfficerAnjos’s training and nine years’ experience in the district, the history of firearms in the neighborhood, the late hour, the defendant’s head movements, his continuous placement of his hand inside his pants, and his accelerating evasion of the police” Putting your best foot forward while testifying in court… From Testifying on page 25 established reasonable suspicion of unlawful possession of a firearm.As such, OfficerAnjos had reasonable grounds to conduct an investigative stop and frisk at the moment when the defendant turned the corner at a walking or jogging pace.Viewed this way, the seizure of the suspect and then the recovery of the firearmwas constitutionally justified. When you confront these situations on the street, it is important that you act in the appropriate manner. It is also equally important that you are able to justify your actions when you bring the ball across the goal line in the courtroom. In these fact intensive cases, your testimony is crucial. Take pride in your work and your reputation and properly prepare yourself. Along with being right and staying safe, being able to explain why you were right is a worthy goal. Stay safe out there, watch out for each other, and keep up the good work. Seaport jurisdiction is still a major issue F irst and foremost I would just like to thank the leadership of the BPPA and the editors of the Pax for allowing this article to be published. To get things started, I would like to beat a dead horse! Once again, the Seaport Legislation has come under attack by the Secretary of Pub- lic Safety, Andrea Cabral. The Secretary, in a meeting that was held a while ago to discuss the possibility of concurrent jurisdiction with the MA State Police in the Seaport, stated that the issue on the table was not a public safety issue, but a union and detail issue. Secretary Cabral’s dismissiveness in regards to this issue is absolutely unacceptable and her favoritism towards State entities is blatant. She is the Secretary of Public Safety for the entire Commonwealth and her concerns should be with the safety of the citizens, guests and all police officers of the entire Commonwealth not just the special interests of State-funded police departments, and yes, Massport is a quasi-state agency. Governor Deval Patrick is not running for another term and a new governor brings the possibility of replacing the current Secretary. That being said, we are a department of over two thousand sworn police officers. And every candidate you talk to, ask them the question of concurrent jurisdiction. Bring to their attention the contempt and dismissive attitude the current Secretary holds for you and your safety. Do not underestimate the power of your vote and your ability bring out the vote! The Massport issue may not seem like a big deal to some, but it absolutely is! As police officers, we do not live in a world of black and white. We Iive in a world of gray and of what-ifs. Concurrent jurisdiction would also provide us with protection from potential law suits. As an example, the restaurants and licensed premises (more and more of which seem to be popping up) in the Seaport district are licensed through the City of Boston and as police officers, we are agents of the licensing board. If an incident occurs in that part of the city, we need to be protected by legislation that gives us the absolute right to be there. I cannot figure out why post 9-11 that this issue has not been resolved. We are probably the only state in the union that still has exclusive jurisdictions, excluding the airports which are a totally dif- ferent subject and are not what we are looking for. The Massachusetts Legislation is a body of men and women that are pretty intelligent on most matters and needs to settle this public safety debacle. As a body made up primarily of lawyers, the potential for problems and possible litigation when it comes to criminal matters in that area should be very apparent to them. Our newMayor, MartinWalsh, was a legislator for over a decade. As a representative, he was a very effective legislator for the entire Commonwealth. He sponsored many bills for the protection of your rights and the rights of every citizen in this state. Now that he is our Mayor, I am hoping he can persuade Governor Patrick and Speaker Robert DeLeo to become our ally on this very important issue. As it stands now EOPS, the Executive Office of Public Safety, is run by Secretary Cabral, who appears to be stonewalling this issue. I do not believe there is any compromise with her! A wise man named George Carney once told me everyone loves to win, everyone hates to lose but most people can live with a compromise of some sort. The compromise in this matter will allow the guests and residents of the Seaport having an extra layer of public safety protection. Secretary Cabral has a very short memory. Not too long ago, when she was the Sheriff of Suffolk County, the Boston Police Department was her ally in crime reduction and offender programs. Now in her new position, she treats us as her step children in law enforcement. EOPS is not our friend, but they are wolves in sheep’s clothing. Commissioner William Evans has been very vocal on this issue and he has been fighting a long battle to get the Boston Police Depart- ment concurrent jurisdiction in this neighborhood in the City of Bos- ton. As Bureau Chief, Acting Commissioner and now Commissioner he has dealt with this issue and has battled long and hard. He strongly believes that this is a serious issue of public safety. Hopefully he, along with Mayor Walsh, will come back with a favorable outcome. An outcome of compromise that will keep the citizens, guests of our city and all police officers out of harm’s way. Remember what is ours is ours! Don’t give your work away. I know after a long week of doing double shifts the last thing you want to do is write a report involving a MBTA bus. But if an accident oc- curs on our streets it is ours, do not give it away. Also the calls in the Seaport add up! More calls mean more local aid funding. In closing, I would like to say that I respect any person who puts on a uniform and goes out and does the job we do, regardless of who they are employed by. By Sgt. Det. Thomas Pratt, BPSAU