Minutes for Law Enforcement Body Camera Task Force Meeting

Members Present:

• Asst. U/S Angela F.F. Davis (Chair)
• Cpt. Steven McCarthy, State Police (Vice-Chair)
• Alyssa Hackett, Esq., Committee for Public Counsel Services
• Chief Thomas W. Fowler, Salisbury Chief of Police
• Cpt. Steve McCarthy, State Police
• DA Michael O’Keefe, Cape & Islands District Attorney
• Emiliano Falcon-Morano, Esq., ACLU
• Fred Taylor, NAACP
• Grace Lee, Esq., People’s United Bank
• Hillary Farber, Esq., University of MA School of Law
• Israuel Marrero, Boston Police
• Jose Lozano, Boston Police
• Kaleigh Marshall, Chelmsford Police Department
• Rose King, Esq., Committee for Public Counsel Services
• Sheriff Patrick McDermott, Norfolk County Sheriff
• Steven J. Brooks, Esq., Brooks & Crawley, LLP
• Tim Mitchell, EOTSS

Members Not Present:

• Carmelo Ayuso, State Police
• Stephen Carley, Esq., MA Attorney General’s Office

Staff:

• Suleyken Walker, EOPSS (Board Counsel)
• Dan Nakamoto, EOPSS (Board Advisor)
• Michaela Martini, EOPSS (Staff)

Welcome

Meeting was called to order at 9:32 AM, Chair Davis welcomed everyone, attendance was taken and a quorum declared.

Review minutes, vote

Tim Mitchell made a motion to accept the September 14, 2021 meeting minutes. Attorney Grace Lee seconded the motion. All voted in favor and the motion passed unanimously.

Review report update for Legislature

DA Michael O’Keefe made a motion to accept and send the report update letter to the Legislature. Vice-Chair McCarthy seconded the motion. All voted in favor and the motion passed unanimously.

Ethics presentation Candies Pruitt

Attorney Candies Pruitt gave an ethics presentation. She is an attorney in the Enforcement Division of the State Ethics Commission. Attorney Walker (EOPSS) asked that members forward the required ethics training certificate to EOPSS for recordkeeping. EOPSS will provide the link to the training by e-mail.

Review Subcommittees Draft

Israuel Marrero commented that discipline and training should be one subcommittee. Attorney Hillary Farber asked how the individual subcommittee work would translate to the end work product of the Task Force. DA O’Keefe suggested creating a framework for all members to give input and populate a document, so all Task Force members are kept apprised. Attorney Walker (EOPSS) suggested that members of the drafting committee also serve on individual subcommittees, so that the information can be circulated more widely as the work is being done. Attorney Farber suggested perhaps having one person from each subcommittee report back at larger Task Force meetings and update information in the larger draft. Tom Ashe commented that he can provide Springfield’s body worn camera policy to the group. Chair Davis asked that by tomorrow noon, all members send to her their top three choices of subcommittees they would like to work on. Attorney Emiliano Falcon-Morano asked who would be responsible for organizing and convening the individual subcommittee meetings. Chair stated she, Dan Nakamoto (EOPSS), and Vice-Chair McCarthy would be charged with scheduling subcommittee meetings and taking minutes. Chair Davis also proposed, in line with Attorney Farber’s suggestion, electing someone at those meetings to report back to the larger group. EOPSS was asked to create “subcommittee” folders on the SharePoint.

Review Timeline Draft

Attorney Lee made a motion to approve the timeline. Attorney Farber seconded the motion. The motion carried and all voted unanimously. The timeline was approved with an understanding that once public listening sessions are scheduled they will be embedded into the timeline.

Public Input

There were no public members that wished to comment.

Topics not reasonably anticipated/other

Chair Davis proposed having Jack McDevitt attend the next Task Force meeting to speak to the group as a subject matter expert on body worn cameras. Dan Nakamoto (EOPSS) gave background on Jack McDevitt, a professor at Northeastern University. He noted that he and his colleagues are currently providing support for the work of the Governor’s Hate Crimes Task Force. Mr. McDevitt expressed great interest in the subject matter of the Task Force and kindly offered to present a macro view to the group pro bono.  He would also be willing to provide additional assistance beyond the next meeting as well. He was co-author of a study on a body worn camera pilot in the city of Boston. He is an expert of hate crimes and victimology. Dan stated from his perspective, Mr. McDevitt is a subject matter expert in this area. Attorney Falcon-Morano asked for some clarity on what his role in the Task Force would be. He also requested a copy of his resume for the group to review. Attorney Lee wondered if we could hear from him first and then make a collective decision on whether to pursue his talents. Attorney Farber stated she has no objections to him attending the next meeting but acknowledged that this group does have subject matter experts on the Task Force to provide their own experience as well. Sgt. Tim King stated he agreed and wished to discuss when the Task Force will hear from the public as well. Chair Davis responded that the Public Input Subcommittee will be charged with managing that as soon as possible. Fred Taylor asked if the Task Force is lacking any other specialists that could advise the group and add to the conversation. Dan Nakamoto stated that he believed that the technology of body worn cameras was one possible need area for experts. Chair Davis stated that there is a broad base of attendance here but looked to others for their thoughts. Springfield Police Commissioner Cheryl Claproot (with Tom Ashe) spoke about the Springfield officers engaged in their body worn camera program. She noted that when referring to missing voices and experience, she would argue the folks doing the job are missing from the conversation and can tell you what police departments may face as far as footage, complaints, and retention. She noted that the Department hired consultants for the technology issues. Fred asked how the department deals with Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. Commissioner Claproot responded in saying that there are a lot of requests, and a lot of staff is required to keep up with the incoming requests. Jose Lozano also commented that the biggest challenge for him is responding to all the requests. Attorney Lee stated that a labor and employment attorney might be beneficial to weight in on this as staffing appears to be a challenge. Attorney Lee said she would be interested in hearing from Mr. McDevitt and DA O’Keefe agreed. Attorney Steven Brooks stated that perhaps the group should provide Mr. McDevitt with a list of what the group would like to hear him speak about as most attendees already have an understanding of the subject matter. DA O’Keefe agreed with this point. Chair Davis stated she would entertain a motion to have Jack McDevitt attend the next meeting of the Task Force and speak on challenges he has encountered. Sheriff McDermott made a motion. DA O’Keefe seconded. All voted in favor. The motion was approved unanimously.

Chair Davis noted the upcoming meeting schedule.

Adjournment

Fred Taylor made motion to adjourn. Sheriff McDermott seconded. The motion carried and meeting was adjourned at 10:45AM.