PAX Centurion - April / June 2016

www.bppa.org PAX CENTURION • April-May-June 2016 • Page 3 A Message from the President: Patrick M. Rose, BPPA President Why aren’t we all better equipped to tackle inevitable Terrorist Acts? A s I sat down to write a few thoughts to share with you, the terrible news from Orlando blew up the internet. I cannot, in good conscience, sit here and pen an article about all of the good things going on or the achievements that we have accomplished while such inconceivable acts are happening around us. First and foremost, all of us are shocked, saddened and disgusted that yet another TERRORISTATTACK has happened within our National Borders.Yes, there is absolutely no doubt that this was an act of Terrorism. The targeted group, the LGBT Community, also makes it a HATE CRIME. The Terrorist was a United States Citizen by birth. We in the Law Enforcement Community understand Hate crimes; we are victims of them daily. Why did he pick out a Gay night club? That question will be debated for decades to come. However, don’t for a second believe that the call from ISIS, on May 21 st to U.S. sympathizers and supporters, the call to “kill all Infidels” and the statements that “there are no innocents in the heart of the land of the Infidels,” (referring to the U.S.), the direction to “pick soft targets,” etc. to “launch attacks during Ramadan” didn’t go unnoticed by this sick bastard that slaughtered those innocent people in Orlando. The worst shooting attack in the history of the United States came after call to Muslims by ISIS official Abu Mohammed al Adnani, urging a “month of hurt” inAmerica. The scene for that Florida massacre was set at least a month earlier, when the spokesperson for the Islamic State told the terror group’s supporters in an internet audio recording: “The smallest action you do in the heart of their land is dearer to us than the largest action by us, and more effective and more damaging to them.” Adnani continued in the statement: “And if one of you wishes and tries hard to reach the Islamic State, then one of us wishes to be in your place to hurt the Crusaders day and night without sleeping, and terrorize them so that the neighbor fears his neighbor.” In this way, ISIS is nurturing and building homegrown terror networks around the world, thus encouraging those who live “abroad” to launch attacks locally ‘as their religious duty.’According to CNN, Adnani is believed to have been the ISIS official tasked with command responsibilities over the attacks that were carried out in Brussels and Paris. The question to ask is: Why is Adnani still alive?! Furthermore, why have our calls to properly equip the Boston Police Patrol Force gone unheeded?! Where are the Patrol Rifles? Where are the Tasers?Where are the Ballistic Shields?Where are the Ballistic Helmets?Where are replacement Officers?Why are we not training and equipped at EVERY LEVEL?! Why is it that individual Supervisors, Officers and Units have to basically sneak in some training and smuggle in supplies such as first aid kits to the Patrol force that the City will not issue or bargain the use of with this Union?! It’s great to put on a big public show once a year or so, such as the exercise that was happening the very day that the Orlando tragedy happened, to pacify the public, but even that was ridiculous. We train as if SWAT is totally manned and at the ready, but we don’t even issue SWAT Officers Transportation to get from their homes to their needed location. ( Do we really think something is always going to take place at 12:00 noon on a day that all Officers are working? Didn’t Orlando happen at 2:00 a.m.? Didn’t Watertown go down at Midnight?! ) Speaking of underequipped, what about our own Bomb Squad; The Boston Bomb Unit is the largest bomb squad within New England. The Boston Bomb Squad is the only 24 hour bomb unit within New England. But once again; they have not been issued vehicles to get to their needed assignments without first driving into their base, getting their equipment, suiting up and trying to move to the required location. The BPD Bomb Squad responds to calls from all over New England 24X7. Boston PD is the ONLY department in New England that DOESN’T issue vehicles to their Bomb Tech’s to secure and transport their assigned equipment. ( Post Marathon bombing, it was agreed that all Patrolmen assigned to the Bomb Unit would be issued a ‘take home M/V’ ) A simple Ford F-150 with a cap would suffice, but no let’s not use common sense or follow up on after action reports from previous incidents! This City doesn’t even think enough of the Bomb Squad to compensate them for extra hours during training, but they can find the money to pay the Supervisors! The bottom line is; someone in this City better start getting serious and heed our warnings, because it’s not if it happens again it’s when it happens again. Hire the needed Officers, train and properly equip this Patrol Force before it is too late! ( Sorry, forgive me, but sometimes one has to vent, maybe someone that has a public voice will realize that this City ‘Rolls the Dice’on a daily basis when it comes to their safety and ours alike. ) We are currently attempting to negotiate a legitimate contract for you, our members. We have had numerous meetings with representatives from the City and the Department and continue to hold on to hope that the City of BostonAdministration will see the benefit of actually working with us and negotiate a fair and equitable contract. At first blush, it appears that we have to once again remind this Department and the City of Boston that we deserve to be paid no less than our Brothers & Sisters in the Fire Department, ( who deserve everything they get, but we deserve no less! ) ( The more things change, the more they remain the same! ) I would like to publically congratulate our nominees who were selected as ‘Top Cop’ awardees: Officers John Moynihan, Jamie Conley, Brian Johnson, Janet Lewis, Dennis Medina, Gregg Bowden along with (now) Detective Brian Ball and Trooper Billy Cameron. Saturday night, May 14 th , these men and woman were honored in our Nation’s Capital by NAPO; as one of ten incidents that made ‘Top Cop’Honors nationally. These men and woman were selected from hundreds of nominees and hundreds of individual incidents and heroics displayed by our Brother & Sister Officers in Law Enforcement Country wide. We were honored to accompany these brave Officers along with dozens of other Boston Police Officers for the annual celebration of National PoliceWeek in our Nation’s Capital. A Big shout out to all of the Officers that made it to theAnnual Memorial Mass held on Sunday June 5 th . As you are aware, we celebrate a Mass annually at Mt. Hope Cemetery on the first Sunday in June, to celebrate the lives of our deceased comrades who have See President on page 5