PAX Centurion - Spring 2019

www.bppa.org PAX CENTURION • Spring 2019 • Page 3 A Message from the President: Michael F. Leary, BPPA President .. .(regarding) Body cameras. I hear you all, loud and clear, “we do not want body cameras.” I understand, I do not want body cameras either. If there was any legal way to prevent the Body Worn Camera Program from being implemented, we would have done it. Yesterday. But there isn’t. The BPPA retains the best labor attorneys in the State of Massachusetts and unfortunately, it could not be prevented. We belong to, and have, a nationally recognized police department. We are looked up to as a model by departments across the country. Thankfully, we do not have many of the issues that plague other departments. That is because we do community policing, and policing in general, right in Boston. We have challenges. It is tough out there. Issues arise. But I know we are well trained and we are professional. I t has been some time since the last PAX was issued, and the reason for that was we wanted to take a step back and address a couple of the issues regarding our Union’s publication. The main issue we found problematic was the prohibitive cost of printing the magazine, especially in today’s world where the majority of us read everything online. We updated our website, bppa.org , and from here on out the PAX will be available for you to read there. Our retirees will still be mailed a hard copy, and copies will be distributed to the districts as well. We may also cut back on the editions by one or two year, making them less redundant and more relevant. It has been just a little over a year since I began serving as the President, and my hope is that the membership feels that all of us down here on Freeport Street are doing a good job of representing your best interests. We want what you want, and then some; pensionable income, fair contract language, healthy work environments. We want your rights protected and the rules followed. Just know we are constantly out there, working for you. This past February 6 th , we held a health and wellness screening here at the Hall. It was a huge success and one step towards making all of us take better care of ourselves, and of each other. 2018 was a tough year for us, we lost too many of our members. Rest in Peace. No one needs me to remind them that we have a tough job. The hours are too long, it is dangerous, and more often than not, it is thankless. We urged everyone to take part, and the response was phenomenal. We plan on doing another one eventually, hopefully improving upon the last. We also want to work with all the unions and the Department itself in promoting our members’ good health. Now on to the elephant in the room. Body cameras. I hear you all, loud and clear, “we do not want body cameras.” I understand, I do not want body cameras either. If there was any legal way to prevent the Body Worn Camera Program from being implemented, we would have done it. Yesterday. But there isn’t. The BPPA retains the best labor attorneys in the Representing your best interests! State of Massachusetts and unfortunately, it could not be prevented. We belong to, and have, a nationally recognized police department. We are looked up to as a model by departments across the country. Thankfully, we do not have many of the issues that plague other departments. That is because we do community policing, and policing in general, right in Boston. We have challenges. It is tough out there. Issues arise. But I know we are well trained and we are professional. There is no loud outcry from the citizens of Boston looking for body cameras, either. Polls say that the vast majority of people, the law abiding ones anyway, look at the BPD favorably and feel we are doing a good job. There was a series of meetings set up by the City Council on body cameras and someone from the BPPA was in attendance for each one. When I was there, from as far as I could tell, there was not even a handful of actual community members that showed up. The majority of the approximately (whopping) thirty people there were members of the Boston Police Body Cameras Action Committee and theACLU, and obviously, they have their own agendas. I am convinced this program will be the most expensive “We told you so” the City has ever seen, because we all know they are not necessary. What it will do, however, is vindicate our officers, over and over. And it will aid in preventing false and frivolous claims too. We have already started meetings, many of them, to negotiate what will be the biggest change in working conditions officers today have ever faced. We are battling for the best financial package possible and the best contract language we can get. It has been a back and forth struggle, and it continues. Earlier in the article I mentioned how we have the best attorneys working for our members. In furtherance of that sentiment, I would like to congratulate Alan Shapiro and the team at Sandulli Grace for a huge victory in Superior Court. Issues regarding back pay for the officers recently reinstated to our force, after being terminated in the “hair test case,” were brought before the court and the court ruled in their favor. This has been a long, drawn out legal process but let’s hope the end is here, and they are made whole. Congratulations.