| Thursday October 5, 2006
8:58 PM
Public Enemy Number 1 - Bruce Tait
“A major part of successful living lies in the ability to put first things first. Indeed, the reason most major goals are not achieved is that we spend our time doing second things first”. - Robert J. McKain
I have to make a confession here. When I first started this website, I envisioned it as something that would be little more than a local splash, as well as a way to keep the membership updated on union activity. Much to my surprise, it’s gone WAY beyond that. For the last four months, we’ve been averaging well over 100,000 hits (which are different than page views) per month, and we’re on pace to go way beyond that this month. As a matter of fact, our tech person has had to “up” the bandwidth limit on the website several times, because heavy traffic has caused it to automatically shut-down on occasion.
Of course, the position of Pravda….uhhhhh…..I mean the Quincy Police Department, is that this website doesn’t bother anyone, serves no purpose, and is counterproductive. When my vice-president and secretary get screaming, out-of-control phone calls about the content of this website from QPD superior officers (why don’t they just call me directly? I’m not difficult to get in touch with), proclaiming just that, it tells me the opposite is true.
By the way, if a Quincy Police Patrol Officer made a similar phone call to a superior officer, and Chief Crowley heard about it, that patrol officer would be immediately disarmed, his/her LTC suspended, then sent to the hospital, to be “checked out”. I mentioned in the last blog entry below that revenge is a dish best served cold, but hypocrisy is always served steaming hot at the Quincy Police Department.
Of course, even certain superior officers aren’t spared this type of treatment. Congratulations and thank you to Lieutenant John McDonough, who recently received a settlement of $550,000 for the lawsuit he filed over the disgraceful treatment he received at the hands of Crowley, et al. Thank you, because I know he certainly didn’t do it for the money, and maybe now Crowley will think twice the next time before he unjustly screws with someone. Of course he won’t, but each new day brings fresh hope. By the way, if it didn’t break it already, McDonough’s award has brought the total in civil judgments to QPD employees for the bad conduct of the command staff to near the one million dollar plateau.
http://ledger.southofboston.com/articles/2006/09/06/news/news04.txt
But remember…..we’re the problem.
Anyway…on to the effectiveness of this website. It’s no secret to anyone who reads this website, and certainly not a secret to any employee of the Quincy Police Department, that Chief Crowley’s main obsession is kids drinking in the woods. He will move heaven and Earth to rid Quincy of this “scourge”, which seems to exist only in his mind. As I’ve mentioned before, the City of Quincy is most certainly NOT Mayberry, and we have much more serious things to worry about. Armed robbery versus kids seen carrying beer into the woods. Take a wild guess as to which call will, and should, be given higher priority?
On May 28th, 2006, I posted a journal entry here that commented on Crowley being obsessive over kids drinking in the woods (scroll down until you see the scary ghost). Anyone who works for the QPD will tell you how completely obsessed Crowley is with this issue. It’s almost pathological.
Wouldn’t you know…..since that particular journal entry, we haven’t heard hide nor hair of Crowley calling-in instances of kids drinking in the woods. Perhaps he finally realized what a jackass he sounded like, or that we have better things to do, but whatever the reason, we’re just glad to be at least temporarily rid of him in that regard.
But remember….this website is ineffectual, and counterproductive.
Unfortunately, Crowley has moved onto another target, one even more ridiculous than the last.
As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a Quincy kid. I grew-up in a very modest house on Stanley Circle, which is a cul-de-sac. In the summer, the sound the kids in the neighborhood wanted to hear most were the melodious tones of the ice cream truck ringing its bell as it circled Stanley Circle. My brother and I would beg whatever parent was available to give us a quarter (how times have changed) to get an ice cream. My favorite was the “Circus Surprise” which was an ice cream treat, but the part of the plastic stick underneath the ice cream was shaped like a circus animal. If you got a green monkey, you got a free ice cream the next time. I never managed to get the green monkey, but my pursuit and dedication apparently impressed the young woman operating the ice cream truck, so when I got a blue monkey one time, she gave me the free ice cream, anyway. The sight and sound of the ice cream truck is still a pleasant childhood memory.
Apparently, Crowley never got the green monkey either, because that sound apparently signifies something sinister to him. Instead of using the $3,000 police radio in his $28,000 Ford Explorer (purchased when his officers were driving rolling deathtraps) to call-in kids drinking in the woods or outright phantom incidents, he has shifted his ire to ice cream trucks. Believe me, I won’t take offense if you don’t believe me, and I probably wouldn’t believe it either, so listen for yourself. Go the Media Gallery section of the website, then Audio Files, then click Priorities. Now, you can hear the infamous Sierra-9 for the first time. Is it me, or does he sound slightly frazzled to you, also?
Of course, someone who tries to see the good in everything might say Crowley was, in some bizarre manner, trying to assist a charity.
Well, you know what? Charity begins at home.
The week of this radio transmission, I can think of at least 3 instances where Quincy Police Officers had to go to a Priority-1 call (gun calls, domestics, bar fights, etc.) alone, because Crowley, who has returned almost 2 million dollars to the city in the last two years, refuses to authorize overtime to ensure safe staffing levels. Most of our spare cruisers are approaching or have exceeded 100,000 miles. At the time of that radio transmission, our portable radios didn’t work. We’re a police department of over 200 sworn personnel, but we only have one police K-9 dog, because Crowley, who never worked as a street cop and therefore doesn’t know what a huge resource a K-9 is, thinks police dogs are “a waste of money”.
If I was the chief of police, and my officers were forced to work under these conditions, I’d be on absolute fire to make things better. I’d call the union heads into my office, and ask them….”What can I do to make your job easier and safer”? Does/did Crowley do that? No…..he showed up at a labor/management meeting, looking like he was living in the weeds behind Roxie’s, carrying a bag of fast-food takeout.
With all the serious problems within the Quincy Police Department, where does Chief Crowley choose to focus his attention? Freaking ice cream trucks.
Does anyone seriously wonder why we recently proclaimed no confidence in our police chief??
Wednesday October 4, 2006
12:59 AM
High Yield Detonation - Bruce Tait
"Revenge is a dish best served cold". - Sicilian Proverb.
Back on August 27th, after Chief Bob Crowley’s very public betrayal of our trust (see “sinking ship” below), I wrote in this space that he had declared war on us, and we would respond in-kind. Indeed, I said that even as I was writing that entry, some of our ICBM’s were lifting off from their silos. By now, Crowley must know that when I say something, I mean it, because some of the missiles have reached their targets, with predictable results.
Last year, the Quincy College Board of Governors advertised in the local papers for people interested in serving on the board. For the many of our readers who don’t reside in Massachusetts, or even in the Western Hemisphere for that matter (much love out to whoever it is in the Seychelles Islands who reads this website), Quincy College is a quasi-city college that grants Associates degrees and professional certificates in many different fields. I’m an alumnus myself, having received a degree in Criminal Justice many years ago. For decades, the college was overseen by the Quincy School Committee until the 1990’s, when the college’s regional accrediting agency, the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, wanted a governing body separate from the city, hence the birth of the Board of Governors. Think of them as the Congress for the college, they make very important decisions on budgeting, spending, etc. You can read more about them here;
http://quincycollege.edu/qc/about/board.htm
Anyway, when the board advertised for interested persons last year, I heard that none other than our own Chief Bob had applied for a position. Hearing this, I looked into the process a little more deeply. I noticed the advertisements said “Full financial disclosure required” of board members. I made a mental note of this, and filed it away in the Rolodex of my brain, knowing it would come in handy someday. When Crowley stabbed us in the back on August 16th by violating a confidentiality agreement concerning the discipline of three of our members, publicly embarrassing them, I knew it was time to break-out the “football”, in order to return the favor.
Crowley needs to understand that when he takes unjust action against us, we will repay him in spades. Taking a page out of his book, we’re going to use nuclear weapons to kill a housefly. Even my soon-to-be 5 year-old twins have figured out that when they misbehave, something unpleasant like getting sent to their room is the result. Crowley hasn’t grasped that concept, or he at least didn’t grasp it on August 16th.
In August, not long after Crowley had himself a little party at our expense when Dad (Mayor Phelan) was on vacation, I filed a public records request with the Quincy College Board of Governors, requesting a copy of Crowley’s financial disclosure. When I told my vice-president, Terry Downing, about this, he instantly said “Oh, he’ll resign before he lets us get a copy of that”.
Shortly afterwards, I received a very friendly response from the Board of Governors, stating they weren’t the holder of those records, the Quincy City Clerk’s Office was. I got sidetracked with some other union business for awhile, and I was preparing to file a request with the city clerk’s office when Jamie Cochrane was killed, which obviously took the ultimate priority.
Apparently, Crowley had gotten word we were on the hunt for his disclosure, because, exactly as Terry Downing had predicted, he suddenly resigned from the board, less than a year into his three-year term, and about a month after I filed the first records request with the board;
http://ledger.southofboston.com/articles/2006/09/19/news/news10.txt
Now, all sorts of alarm bells went off in my head. I consulted with our labor counsel, Paul Hynes, and asked if we could still get a copy of the disclosure, even after he resigned. His answer was what I expected….Crowley can’t redact history, and the fact he’s no longer on the board doesn’t suddenly make his disclosure a non-public document. Having spent the better part of the last 6 years meticulously studying & analyzing every aspect of Crowley’s life, personal & professional, it began to dawn on me what was going on.
I contacted the reporter who wrote the story above, commenting on the amazingly coincidental timing of Crowley’s resignation, and betting her a beer that Crowley never filed the disclosure, as he was required to do. My friends, Uri Geller has nothing on me, because sure enough, he never did;
http://ledger.southofboston.com/articles/2006/10/03/news/news09.txt
Let’s go through this article together, shall we?
The party line is that Crowley resigned from the board, due to a lack of time.
Excuse me…a lack of time? What aspect of Crowley’s life was suffering from his commitment to the 5 meetings a year the Board of Governors requires? His meaningful and fulfilling social life?
His excuse is that the meetings of the Quincy Licensing Board, which he’s a member of by default as police chief, conflicted with the Board of Governor’s meetings.
B.S.
Even though an institution of higher education is involved in this, I’m not referring to Bachelor of Science.
The Licensing Board meets during the day. I know this, because Crowley blew-off the last one, which took place while we were at an arbitration hearing at city hall on September 26th, a proceeding that started at 9am and lasted only a couple of hours. We planned to call Crowley as a witness, but were told by city labor counsel David Grunebaum that Crowley was at the Licensing Board meeting. He also told us Crowley was available if really necessary, since he was “in the building anyway”. Instead, we called Captain Dougan to take Crowley’s place. Only later did we find out that Crowley did not attend the Licensing Board meeting, instead sending one of his captains to sit in his place.
Now, the Quincy College Board of Governors meets at night. I know this because when I was a Quincy College student, a couple of my teachers took the entire class to the meetings, and I was an evening student.
Next lame excuse: “I need to concentrate all my energies on the (police) department”.
We’d really prefer he doesn’t do that, but is taking “days due” by the boatload and not coming to work his idea of devoting his energies to the department?
Joining me in the psychic club is Terry Downing, who has been spot-on when predicting Crowley’s reactions to this situation. When I told him that the Ledger would be asking Crowley why he never filed the disclosure, Terry said “He’ll throw the college under the bus in a heartbeat”. Jobs await us at the Regina Russell Tea Room;
“Crowley said the form was never filed because he was still working with college officials to figure out the fine print at the time he made the decision to resign.”
Okay….the form was due on May 1st, Crowley was appointed to the board in December 2005, and resigned around September 19th. That gave him 5 months to file the disclosure by the deadline, but he still hadn’t filed it by 4 months after that. That’s 9 months…..babies are conceived, gestated, and born in that amount of time. I believe the Massachusetts Constitution was written in less time. Fine print? Either the Quincy College “officials” are incompetent boobs, which I know they’re not, or Crowley is frantically trying to cover his tracks. You be the judge.
Whistling past the graveyard, Crowley now insists our attempts to get his financial disclosure had nothing to do with his decision to resign. If you believe that, I have some friends in Africa that would love to make you rich if you use your bank accounts to transfer some money for them.
“There would have been nothing on the financial statement anyhow,’’ Crowley said. ‘‘I don’t know why they wanted it.’’
If that’s true, that nothing would have been on it, why was it not possible to file it after 9 months? If there’s nothing to file, why wasn’t it completed immediately? I suspect there would have been all sorts of interesting things on it. Otherwise, why would he resign, rather than file it?
Why do we want it? Very simple.
Chief Crowley…..in spite of what you may think, the rules DO apply to you. You are NOT above the law. When you hold us to arbitrary, ever-changing standards, do you really think we’re going to pass-up the opportunity to hold you to some standards?
Did this issue die with Crowley’s resignation? Positively not. We are exploring all legal avenues to force Crowley to file the disclosure he was required to file. My opinion is that he can’t change history….he was in a position that requires a financial disclosure for 9 months, and blatantly ignored the rules and the law, as is his usual style. Whether it’s through the state ethics commission or a Superior Court action, if there is any way possible to force Crowley to file the disclosure, we’re going to do it, up to and including the state or US Supreme Court. He needs a little dose of humility, and we’re more than happy to provide it.
If we’re successful, what will I do with Crowley’s financial information? Well, if we do get the disclosure that means my theory is correct, that it’s public information. Shouldn’t the public have free access, like through an Internet website, to public information?
Of course! Consider it our little gift to you, our loyal readers.
I’ll mention here that Crowley’s failure to file the financial disclosure has absolutely nothing to do with his position as chief of police, so if this ends-up before the ethics commission or a court hearing, I’ll be EXTREMELY disappointed, as should every Quincy taxpayer, to see the city solicitor’s office representing Crowley. He made his bed, he should be forced to lie in it.
Reading the first Ledger article, you might have noticed the Board of Governors now has 6 vacancies, so they’ll soon be advertising for interested people. Guess who’s interested? That would be none other than yours truly. I’m an alumnus of Quincy College, born & raised in Quincy, I have a Master’s degree, and a keen interest in adult education, which is a large percentage of Quincy College’s student body.
Unlike Crowley, I would have no problem whatsoever with filing a full financial disclosure, because I have nothing to hide. Being the sole provider for my wife and 2 children, with about 20 years left on my mortgage, I’m in debt up to my eyeballs, at least on paper. I owe nothing on credit cards, no car payments, but a large nut to Sovereign Bank hanging over my head, like almost every other blue-collar worker in the country.
If I am appointed, it will be very tempting to either grow a mustache, or don a fake one, for my official photograph.
As I mentioned, this incident was one of our ICBM’s detonating over its designated target. Although I and the other QPPOA executive board members had nothing to do with the recent no-confidence vote, we knew it was coming, and that it would be overwhelming, so that was another detonation. Right now, we have other ICBM’s still in-flight, while we have some launch control officers doing the two-key thing right now.
Students of military science will tell you that ICBM’s are a “first strike” weapon, because they reach the target so quickly. Since Crowley declared all-out war on us on August 16th, we’re emptying our arsenal. Our “second strike” weapons are being prepared, so the heavily-laden B-52’s will soon be lumbering down the runway.
Let the fun begin.
Saturday September 23, 2006
3:57 PM
Tribute to a Friend - Bruce Tait
On Friday, October 27th 2006, there will be a tribute to Quincy Police Officer James "Jamie" Cochrane, who died on September 10th from injuries sustained in an off-duty motorcycle crash the previous day. Jamie was an eight-year veteran of the QPD, who leaves behind his widow, Maria. He was buried with his twin daughters, Mia and Caroline, both of whom died shortly after birth in 2001.
This event will be held at the IBEW Local 103 Hall, 256 Freeport Street in Dorchester, starting at 7pm. There will be a DJ, Hors d'oeuvres, cash bar, and a silent auction. All proceeds will benefit Jamie's widow.
Tickets are $25 and may be purchased by contacting;
Gregg Hartnett (8am-Midnight): 617-908-8587
E.J. Hartnett (8am-4pm): 617-745-5824
Karyn Barkas (8am-4pm): 617-745-5753
Tom Cleary (8am-4pm): 617-745-5773
Michael Bowes (4pm-Midnight): 617-745-5833
Billy Ward (4pm-Midnight): 617-745-5730
Direct contributions can be made to;
Friends of Maria Cochrane
P.O. Box 690268
Quincy, MA 02269-0268
Friday September 15, 2006
12:45 AM
Only the Good Die Young - Bruce Tait
Today, Quincy Police Officer James “Jamie” Cochrane was laid to rest in Cedar Grove Cemetery. Jamie died on September 10th, 2006 from injuries sustained in a motorcycle crash the previous day. The Quincy Police Patrol Officers’ Association extends our deepest sympathies to Jamie’s family and friends.
To say we’re absolutely devastated by this would be a major understatement. Jamie was a great cop, and a friend to all who knew him. He was one of the very few people at 1 Sea Street about whom no one had a bad word to say, and if you were friendly to him, you made a friend for life.
We’re still coming to grips with the fact we’ll never again see him walk into the police station wearing his ever-present megawatt smile, or hear his distinctive laugh during “choir practice”. While the Cochrane & Styles families and the Quincy Police Department have suffered a terrible, tragic loss, so has the world in general, for losing a man of his caliber.
We’d like to thank the physicians, nurses, and staff at Boston Medical Center, as well as the members of the Boston Police Department, Quincy Fire Department, and Fallon Ambulance Service for their kindness, compassion, and consideration in the time following the horrible crash. Thanks also to the Massachusetts State Police for providing law enforcement coverage in Quincy today, so almost all of us could attend Jamie’s funeral and the collation afterward.
Thank you also to the huge number of law enforcement officers, firefighters, EMT’s, and emergency service workers from a myriad of agencies who helped to give him a send-off that would have made him proud. I'd especially like to thank the large number of retired Quincy Police Officers who attended, some of whom came from out of state to be there. Also, thanks to Boston EMS, for their support and assistance during the interment ceremony. We hope we can someday repay all these people and agencies for everything they’ve done for us, but we pray it’s not under similar circumstances.
You would never meet as nice a guy as Jamie Cochrane, if you lived to be a hundred. If my son grows-up to become like him, I’ll be absolutely thrilled. If my daughter marries someone like him, I’ll be equally thrilled. That’s the highest compliment one man can pay another, and that’s exactly the type of person Jamie Cochrane was.
Rest in peace, Jamie.
Saturday September 9, 2006
3:17 AM
The membership has spoken - Bruce Tait
“The men are ready for anything” – George Stewart to Fletcher Christian, aboard HMS Bounty
On August 7th 2006, the members of the Quincy Police Patrol Officers’ Association overwhelmingly voted “NO CONFIDENCE” in Chief Robert Crowley. Almost 90% of our membership turned out to vote, a staggering number, and the mandate was overwhelming. The membership specifically asked I not release the actual numbers, because some had the concern that Crowley could somehow figure out who voted, as well as how they voted, by that information, and they fear retribution. Unfortunately, that’s how we have to think these days at 1 Sea Street. Without giving the numbers, I’ll put it to you this way; Compared to this vote, the Reagan/Mondale election was a nail-biter.
I think it’s important for everyone to understand the history between us and Crowley, in order to understand why it’s come to this. When Crowley was first appointed as chief of police, I was the vice-president of the QPPOA. We had a meeting with Crowley, and said this; Everything that’s happened between us is in the past, and now the slate is wiped clean. Let’s start over, and work together to restore the morale that was decimated under former Chief Bill Falco. As a totally unsolicited good will gesture, Crowley offered to let us start working details in Milton again, once a common practice, which was eliminated by Falco for no other reason than sheer pettiness. Crowley expressed some legitimate concerns as to our law enforcement jurisdiction in another town, so I suggested we contact Sheriff Mike Bellotti, to see if he would appoint us as deputy sheriffs, giving us jurisdiction in all of Norfolk County. Crowley agreed to this, as did Sheriff Bellotti, so we started the process of getting everyone to complete an application to the sheriff’s office, and getting pictures for the deputy ID cards.
About 2 weeks after we started that process, Crowley changed his mind. Now, he would only agree to let us work in Milton if we agreed to allow lieutenants and captains to work details, which is prohibited by our contract. Now, a lieutenant makes 46% more than we do, and a captain makes 69% more than we do. To suggest to our membership that we agree to this was tantamount to asking them what they thought of cop killers. Crowley strung us along with the carrot on the stick, and then pulled the rug out from under us. Essentially, he took the olive branch we extended him, and stuck it up our ass.
Fast forward to when I took over as president in December 2005. One of the first things we did was request a meeting with Crowley, to once again suggest we start with a clean slate. Learning our lesson from the last time, we were going to get any sort of promises or good will gestures in writing. Probably sensing this, Crowley decided to not even bother with the facade of having any sort of respect for us. He showed up at the meeting unshaven, dressed like a bum, and carrying a bag of Wendy’s takeout. He sat there, while we outlined several important concerns of his officers, and chewed his sandwich with his mouth open.
Of course, if I thought Crowley was really that hungry, I would have suggested a lunch meeting at a fine restaurant, and we would have picked-up the check. However, this had nothing to do with hunger, or with Crowley wanting to try Wendy’s new chicken creations; it was all about sending a message. It couldn’t have been clearer if Crowley sent it registered mail.
Lieutenant Bradlee’s, meet Chief Wendy’s.
It’s been downhill since then. Officers have been threatened with suspensions and criminal charges for doing their jobs and defending themselves, officers have had their guns taken away and forced to see mental health professionals for expressing emotion, and we’re going to dangerous calls alone because Crowley’s slash & burn attack on the overtime budget has resulted in dangerous understaffing in the patrol division. The last straw came on August 16th, when Crowley outrageously violated a confidentiality agreement agreed to by us and city hall. Like a kid who throws a party when mom & dad are out of town, Crowley waited until Mayor Phelan was on vacation until he blabbed to the Patriot Ledger. Who could have confidence in someone who can’t even keep his word?
Crowley has transformed the Quincy Police Department from one of the best police jobs in the state, into a miserable place to work. As I’ve mentioned before, my dream since I was 5 years old was to be a Quincy Police Officer, and when I was appointed to the department on April 1st, 1994, it was the culmination of that dream. Right now, I hate it with every fiber of my being, and it’s almost solely due to Crowley. The other officers I work with are awesome, as are 99% of the supervisors, but the working conditions are atrocious. I can deal with the stuff on the street….the junkies, the drunks, the domestics, the armed robberies, the gun calls…..I knew of those things when I took the civil service exam. But, I can’t deal with all that, PLUS knowing my boss, who never did the job I do, is constantly looking for ways to either suspend or criminally charge me.
Of course, this vote was big news, because it’s never been done before in the 38 year history of the QPPOA. As such, the Patriot Ledger did a rather large story on it. I have to admit I was a bit disappointed to see it wasn’t the leading headline; it was relegated to the front page of the “Local” section. Apparently, three cops who run a personal errand while on-duty is worthy of a leading headline “above the fold”, while the patrol officers of the largest police department in Norfolk County voting “no confidence” in their chief is put to the back burner. This story was way too big to ignore, but I suspect it was kept off the leading headline as a payback to Crowley for being the “source close to the investigation” for so many years. I’ll mention here we like Chris Walker, the reporter who covered this vote. He’s always been more than fair with us, and we realize the decisions of where a headline goes come from above him.
In reading the article, I saw that an old quote of Crowley’s was resurrected for this story. When Crowley was appointed as chief, he said he expected “eight hours of work for eight hours of pay” from his officers. That’s a real corker, considering Crowley is the first part-time police chief that Quincy has ever had. For example, I hold in my hot little hand Crowley’s attendance record for the period of August 18th to August 28th, 2006, courtesy of a FOIA request. Now, Crowley’s hours of work are Monday-Friday, 8am-4pm. Here is his attendance record;
8/18 – Worked full day
8/19 – Day off (Saturday)
8/20 – Day off (Sunday)
8/21 – Took a half day due (took half the day off)
8/22 – Full day due (did not work)
8/23 – Full day due (did not work)
8/24 – Half day due (worked a half day)
8/25 – Half day due (worked a half day)
8/26 – Day off (Saturday)
8/27 – Day off (Sunday)
8/28 – Worked full day.
By my calculations, Crowley was scheduled to work 56 hours during this time period, while he made an appearance for 28 hours. Under Crowley’s “eight hours work for eight hours pay” mandate, I figure Crowley owes the city 28 hours pay.
I have 2 questions about this;
1) Where are all these “days due” coming from? My understanding is that the chief’s job is a salaried position, and any extra time besides Monday-Friday, 8am-4pm is the price of being the chief of police. Is Crowley granting himself days due for when he’s calling in phantom incidents of kids drinking in the woods?
2) Can I take half of my next work period off, simply because I don’t feel like coming to work? Of course I can’t, because Crowley’s Scrooge-like use of overtime means patrol officers in the patrol division can rarely get a night off on certain nights, because Crowley has decreed that no one can get a vacation day if it results in overtime hiring. For example, just the other night, I went to a call that was in the Top Ten worst things I’ve ever seen in my 18 years as a police officer.
A 21-month old baby was left alone in an apartment in Quincy Point, while the junkie mother went to buy heroin, and was subsequently arrested by the Boston Police. I went to the apartment as the result of an anonymous call, finding the back door wide-open. I entered the apartment with Officer Dan Parisi, and what we found disgusted & horrified us. In one of the almost completely dark bedrooms, we found the 21 month-old baby in a playpen, completely naked, covered in her own diarrhea. This resulted in a total of 4 children being removed by DSS because of the absolutely filthy squalor of the apartment.
As the father of young children myself, this incident was very emotionally draining. I just wanted to go home and hug my own kids after I finished the mountain of paperwork, but the night was crazy in general, and I didn’t want to leave my fellow officers shorthanded. That night ended with some drunken idiot entering a local watering hole, starting a fight, and then threatening to get his gun, come back, and kill everyone in the bar. We finally caught-up with him at Saint Joseph’s Church, where we took him down at gunpoint, etc. He was drunk, 38 years old, with absolutely nothing on him….ID, keys, money, etc., carrying a skateboard down the street, but he thought we were the losers.
After this night from Hell, I wanted to take-off the next night, just to decompress and forget about the job. However, when I looked at the roster for the next night, I saw that 2 slots already had to be covered on overtime, so that plan went right out the window. Of course, I could have called-in sick, but I really didn’t want the rotating light and siren in Crowley’s house to be activated, and I need to save my sick days for when my wife or kids are sick. So, I sucked it up, and came to work when I really didn’t feel up to it.
Unlike Crowley, I don’t have the luxury of granting myself days due, or just not coming to work when I don’t feel like it. Crowley’s “eight hours work for eight hours pay” is a perfect example of his management style, which is the definition of “do as I say, not as I do”. Another problem is that Crowley has absolutely, positively, no concept of what it’s like to walk into an apartment like the House of Horrors I recently had to deal with, because he never did the “grunt work” of a patrol officer. From what I understand, since he’s been on the Quincy Police Department, he’s been allowed to do pretty much whatever he’s wanted, and he certainly never did his time in the patrol division. The great majority of his police officers do a job that he’s never done, but he has no problem whatsoever passing judgment on us for making decisions he’s never had to make himself.
So….where do we go from here? I and my executive board have met with Mayor Phelan, and I believe he is genuinely concerned with what’s happening at 1 Sea Street. He intently listened to us, and wants very much to repair the damage. If I thought there was absolutely no chance of doing this, I wouldn’t have bothered with the meeting, and I never want it to be said we completely shut the door.
I will say this….there will absolutely be no further meetings involving us and Crowley, other than contract negotiations, that does not have a stenographer present, at our expense. We learned our lesson, the hard way, on August 16th that he can’t be trusted, so we will have a certified transcript of everything he says to us, in order to avoid any “misunderstandings”.
Not to sound ominous, but at the union meeting where the no-confidence vote was pushed forward by the membership (the executive board didn’t bring it up, and we abstained from voting), there was talk of even more drastic action to publicly express our displeasure with Crowley, things I can’t legally advocate, but also things I can’t stop.
That’s how bad it’s become at the Quincy Police Department.
Can we ALL be wrong???
Sunday September 3, 2006
3:44 AM
Turning the other cheek - Bruce Tait
“Every man is wise when attacked by a mad dog, fewer when pursued by a mad woman; only the wisest survive when attacked by a mad notion” – Robertson Davies (1913-1995)
What do you think of my proposed new Quincy Police uniform? I know it’s a bit of a departure from our more traditional dark-blue on dark-blue, but times have changed, and we need to change with them. Chief Robert Crowley has made it perfectly clear that when his patrol officers are attacked, he wants us to turn the other cheek, and become a punching bag for the bad guys. Failing to comply with that unwritten, unspoken directive will result in very bad things happening, if Crowley gets his way, so we need something much more attack-resistant than the wool/polyester outfits we have now.
Nothing is more indicative of this than the current mountain-out-of-a-molehill situation involving completely absurd allegations against several Quincy Police Patrol Officers by the “Chinese Progressive Association” (CPA). As I’ve mentioned previously, this organization, which has some highly questionable motives, has launched a smear campaign against both the Quincy Police Department, and the specific Quincy Police Patrol Officers who were involved in the incident. In a nutshell, some Quincy Officers responded to a call to assist a state trooper who was surrounded by several people on Hancock Street. The call wasn’t to assist a state trooper who was surrounded by several Asian people.
After arriving at the location, the Quincy Officers were immediately verbally attacked by some drunken idiots, followed quickly by a physical attack. Using the tools issued to us by the Quincy Police Department, one officer used pepper-spray to temporarily disable his attacker. Unfortunately, a woman who was trying to intervene in the altercation was also inadvertently hit with the pepper spray.
Ooops….sorry about that.
The person who attacked the officer is actually very lucky to have been pepper-sprayed, since we have more than one option with which to defend ourselves against an unarmed attack. One option would be to punch them back, which is not really a great option, as you could injure your hand, as well as the suspect. Another option would have been using our issued collapsible batons, which is basically hitting someone with a metal pipe. The other option is pepper-spray, which is one of the lowest forms of force, just above verbal commands.
Now, I’ve been blasted with pepper-spray. I had to be sprayed with it before I could carry it at my first police job, and I’ve received numerous hits of “friendly fire” over the years. I’ll be the first to admit it’s not a pleasant experience; it feels like someone has thrown burning sand in your eyes, you cough uncontrollably, and your sinuses immediately open-up fully, resulting in what we call “snot ropes”, which are strings of mucus that can reach to your knees.
However, within an hour or so, it’s gone, with no lasting effects whatsoever. I call pepper-spray my “liquid karate”, and I’m on something like my fifth or sixth can of the stuff. I’m starting to get too old to roll around with these fools anymore.
If you read the propaganda promulgated by the CPA, they expect everyone to believe that a Quincy Police Officer, driving down the street, spotted a state trooper having a calm conversation with them on the side of the road. The CPA fairy tale then goes on to describe the Quincy Officer stopping his cruiser, getting out, and immediately pepper-spraying all present. Does anyone actually believe that in 2006, a police officer would stop his cruiser, then randomly start pepper-spraying a bunch of people who were speaking to another police officer from a different law enforcement agency?
Note to the CPA: If you’re going to outright lie, at least make your lies somewhat plausible.
Second note to the CPA, since I know you probably read this website: If you’re thinking of filing a civil suit against the Quincy Officers, you best think again. After they’re exonerated, we will come after you and your lawyers for filing a frivolous lawsuit. We’re going to very vigorously and very aggressively defend our members in this case, because they did nothing wrong. We have VERY deep pockets, our litigation lawyers are $300 per hour, and they’re worth every penny. If you mess with us, you'll quickly see the truth of that statement.
Third note to the CPA: Your stated mission is to improve the living and working conditions of Chinese Americans. I hope you’re proud of your actions in this case, which are accomplishing the exact opposite. I don’t need to tell you that immigrants who come here from mainland China have a deep, and totally understandable, distrust of the police. It’s taken years for the Quincy Police Department to build-up trust with our Asian community, to convince the immigrants they can trust the police in Quincy, and in the United States for that matter. We’re not going to come to their houses in the middle of the night and take them away, as sometimes happens in Communist China.
Apparently, the CPA is willing to sacrifice years of good will and trust between the Quincy Police Department and our Asian community, in order to excuse the unlawful behavior of some drunken fools. Is that really your idea of improving the living and working conditions of Chinese Americans?
Last note to the CPA: Grow a set, and come debate me about this incident. You had a standing invitation to appear with me on Don Kusser’s Quincy Access TV show, and you just never called him back. Well, the invitation still stands. Send your representatives, send your high-powered lawyers, send whoever you want. We have the truth on our side, and we’re not afraid of you.
Of course, the CPA has a very powerful partner in their quest to destroy the careers of these Quincy Police Patrol Officers. That partner would be none other than our fearless leader, Chief Robert Crowley. Just like when Corey Dillon sees the slightest sliver of daylight in the line, Crowley hit the hole hard on this one. Some of the people arrested filed Internal Affairs complaints against the officers, which is perfectly within their rights. Did Crowley allow his Internal Affairs person, Lieutenant Bradlee’s, to investigate this?
No.
Did he bring-in an outside agency to do an Internal Affairs investigation?
From what I understand…..sort-of. My sources tell me the Norfolk County DA’s Office was contacted, but since they’re handling the criminal prosecution of the suspects, I imagine they probably passed on it. I’ll mention here that we sincerely appreciate District Attorney Bill Keating standing by us on this case. It would have been politically expedient to simply drop the charges against some rabble-rousers playing the race card, but DA Keating has seen through their smokescreen. DA Keating…..we know who our friends are, and we won’t forget this.
Almost any real chief would have simply allowed his own IA people to investigate the case, or if he were so concerned with conflict of interest (I learned my lesson, the hard way, that Lieutenant Bradlee’s has no conflict whatsoever when investigating members of this union) have another outside agency do the investigation. We’re not in some rural area here, there are a myriad of law enforcement agencies who could have conducted the IA investigation….the state police, the transit police, any of the surrounding communities.
So, what did Crowley do? He called the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the H-Bomb of law enforcement agencies, which has no problem whatsoever with putting cops (which the FBI most certainly are not) in Federal prison for very vague “civil rights violations” or “hate crimes”. If you’re a police officer, you definitely don’t want the FBI involved in your life.
His officers used the least amount of force available to them, when physically attacked by drunken suspects, and Crowley’s response was to call the FBI. I suspect this was because he thought this was his best chance to get one of the officers in legal hot water, because Crowley seems to have some strange obsession with seeing his patrol officers criminally charged, no matter how specious the charges.
I speculate this is part jealousy, part guilt. Jealousy because he never did the job of a patrol officer, so those of us who have actually done the job, and still do the job, are his constant targets. By the way, in case anyone doubts this, we have in our possession official transcripts, where Crowley states under oath, under the pains & penalties of perjury, that he never did the job of a patrol officer for any significant length of time.
That loud crashing sound you just heard was the last vestige of the facade of Crowley being a “hard-nosed street cop” collapsing to the ground. Believe me when I tell you, there are more facades soon to fall.
The guilt part, in my opinion, comes into play when Crowley thinks of all his own past & current indiscretions, and realizes how hypocritical it is for him to hold his officers to impossibly high, ever-changing standards. Instead of telling you these stories, I’d rather Crowley tell you himself. I much prefer to save those things for a “perjury trap”. Crowley is soon going to be asked some VERY tough questions in upcoming civil lawsuits, questions an arbitrator recently didn’t need to hear, but questions a judge may very well want a jury to hear. As always, when we have the answers, so will you.
Just in case you think this is an isolated incident, I’ll throw you out another example, for your edification and disgust.
Late last year, several Quincy Police Officers were dispatched to the Emergency Department of Quincy Medical Center, to deal with an out-of-control patient who was in-custody. This patient declared he wasn’t going to “go easy”, and I’ll at least say he was a man of his word. It took 4 QPD people to restrain him on the gurney, and he was fighting like a madman the whole time. While trying to “four-point” him (where the patient’s arms & legs are immobilized), one of the officer’s hands got a little too close to the patient’s mouth.
Like the out-of-control animal he was, this person clamped his teeth down on the officer’s hand, and wouldn’t let go. Thankfully, this officer was wearing Kevlar/leather protective gloves, so the teeth didn’t break his skin. However, much like a Kevlar vest simply stops the bullet from entering your body, these gloves can’t stop the pain of someone locking their teeth onto your hand. This officer, rightfully so, used some open-hand strikes to his assailant’s face, in order to get him to release the bite, which worked like a charm. Much like the officers in the CPA incident, this officer used the options available to him. Unfortunately, the options of deploying pepper-spray and a collapsible baton are pretty much negated when one of your hands is being bitten by some lunatic.
This person wasn’t injured, and probably realized that being struck in the face is the price of doing business when you bite a police officer, so he never made any type of complaint.
Unfortunately, this scenario played-out in front of a QMC rent-a-cop, a security guard who made no effort whatsoever to assist in the restraint of this person. Not only that, she went the extra mile to inflame the situation, by trying to be the “tough guy”, talking trash to the patient, which served only to make him more out-of-control. Of course, once the game was on, she retreated to let the real cops handle things.
This rent-a-cop, who inflamed things to the point that resulted in 4 real cops having to do battle with a lunatic, apparently took offense at the officer who defended himself. Because her experience is limited to reading paperback novels while watching heavily-sedated patients, and calling the real police when things go south, she has absolutely no idea what it’s like to be bitten by another human. I can assure her, and you, that it’s not a pleasant experience.
Not content to play the tough guy, and inflaming things, this security guard decided to file an official Internal Affairs complaint against the officer who defended himself. Maybe someday, if she ever becomes a real cop, she’ll understand how absurd her reaction was to that incident.
I have it on very good authority that once Chief Crowley read this ridiculous IA complaint, his first reaction was “Can we criminally charge him (the police officer)?”
Criminally charge him? For what? For defending himself?
Here again lies the root problem of a police chief that never did the job that the majority of the police department does. Crowley probably has slightly more law enforcement experience than the rent-a-cop who filed the IA complaint, but I can almost promise there isn’t much difference. Both have no idea what it’s like to be bitten by someone, because when both are faced with that type of situation, they call the real police. In the case of the security guard, she calls 911. In the case of Crowley, he gets on his radio to request the “area car”, which means the black & white. The street cop, which Crowley never was, and never will be.
To the citizens of Quincy….you’ve probably noticed less Quincy Police cruisers out & about lately. In large part, that’s due to a police chief who returns millions of dollars to the city, while sector cars, the police cars that would ordinarily patrol your neighborhoods, are not staffed. However, there is also another reason for this phenomena.
Due to the current climate within 1 Sea Street, which is almost solely due to Chief Crowley, the veteran officers come to work disenchanted & angry, while the younger officers come to work absolutely terrified they’re going to lose their jobs. When the very first thing your police chief says to you, after you graduate the police academy, is “Here are 10 ways to get fired from this job”, should you expect anything else?
So….the dearth of black & whites on the streets of Quincy isn’t some type of political statement, it’s just a matter of self-preservation. Going back to the wisdom of one veteran officer…."Bruce, you can’t get in trouble when you’re hiding behind (insert covert location here)”.
Well, under the Crowley regime, you probably could, but doing that would certainly stack the odds in your favor.
Thursday August 31, 2006
2:54 AM
The Minister of Disinformation - Bruce Tait
“A censor is a man who knows more than he thinks you ought to” – Granville Hicks (1901 – 1982)
On August 16th, Officers Steve Kelly and Steve Elmes responded to a call of suspicious males at Saint Chrysostom’s church in Wollaston. A caller was still on the phone with our dispatchers, telling them exactly where the people where, and the dispatcher was saying “A little more forward….right there” until Officer Kelly was in the right area. The place where these people were last seen is a very dark (this was late at night) alcove outside the church, so Officer Kelly walked over to investigate.
Much to his surprise, he found a window wide-open, and he was even more surprised to see someone inside the church then reach out and close the window. Officer Kelly radioed there was a breaking & entering (B&E) in progress, and went through the window after the suspect. Once inside the church, Officer Kelly saw the suspect run up the stairs, so he pursued him. Receiving his third nasty surprise of the evening, Officer Kelly discovered in the vestibule of the church entrance that there were actually two suspects, both of whom went after him. Deploying his collapsible baton, Officer Kelly was able to bring one suspect down, while the other fled out the front door. He didn’t make it very far before he was tackled by Officer Elmes. I’ll also mention that one of the suspects had 5 outstanding warrants out for his arrest, while the other had just recently been released from the state prison at Walpole. An absolutely fantastic job by two cops who have been doing it for years.
However, good police work isn’t relegated to officers who have been on for many years. In August, Officers Matt Tobin and Jamie Parisi, both of whom are relatively new to the job, recovered illegal handguns during different traffic stops. Again, great police work, this time by newer officers.
In August 2006, the Quincy Police Drug Control Unit broke their previous record for felony drug arrests in a month.
In July of 2006, there were several attacks in Quincy on gay men who were frequenting so-called “cruising” spots. These weren’t just old-fashioned beat downs, a couple of victims were stabbed, while another was beaten with a crowbar. This guy wasn’t looking to scare people or make a political statement, he wanted to kill someone. Officer Jay Borden, who was working a detail, spotted someone who fit the description provided by the victims, and sure enough, this person was ultimately arrested for the crimes after some great investigative work by QPD Detectives. That also kind-of blows the whole “Details are a waste of money” argument out of the water, doesn’t it?
Earlier this year, Officer Dennis Keenan was on random patrol when he plugged the license plate of the car in front of him into his cruiser laptop computer. The plate came back on a different type of car, and when Officer Keenan tried to pull the car over, it took off. I know all the details of this incident, because I became the second cruiser in the pursuit only seconds after it started. During a pursuit, it’s important to have at least one other police cruiser behind the lead unit. The second cruiser will “call” the pursuit, letting dispatch know the direction, so the lead officer can concentrate on driving.
The pursuit went up Hancock Street, nearing the Keohane Funeral Home, where there was a large wake being conducted. There were several Quincy Police Officers, Massachusetts State Police Troopers, and Norfolk County Deputy Sheriffs there to help with traffic and crossing the large number of mourners. As the suspect vehicle approached Keohane’s, QPD Officer Donald Allison was trying to keep people out of the street, as he knew the pursuit was coming that way. The suspect then swerved right at Officer Allison, hitting him and knocking him to the ground. I can still remember the sick feeling I got in my stomach as I saw him bounce off the hood (luckily, he was okay).
With the state police now joining the chase, it continued down Fenno Street, onto Quincy Shore Drive, then onto Sea Street, then Southern Artery, Furnace Brook Parkway, and back onto Quincy Shore Drive. The suspect then turned onto East Squantum Street, then onto a bunch of side streets in Squantum. The chase eventually ended when the suspect drove behind the Nickerson Legion Post in Squantum, which is a dead-end. He was arrested, and charged with a laundry list of offenses. The car he was driving was stolen, he had a bunch of stolen property in his possession, as well as ID cards under different names. His criminal record was so lengthy that if I stood on a chair (I’m almost 6-3) and let it unravel, it would still bunch-up on the floor.
Also earlier in this year, Officer Keenan was working inside the police station, monitoring the prisoners in the cell block, when he found a prisoner trying to kill himself. The prisoner had managed to secrete some string (the type used to secure cake boxes) on him, and was trying to hang himself. Acting instantly, Officer Keenan was able to get the string off his neck, saving the man’s life.
Why have I shared these “war stories” with you? It’s because of two reasons;
1) You’ve probably never read about them in the Patriot Ledger.
2) Many of the officers involved were recommended for commendations, but never received them. In the case of the vehicle pursuit, I know for a fact Officer Keenan was recommended for a commendation, because the sergeant gave me a copy of his recommendation to the chief’s office, since he recommended me also. Of course, it certainly didn’t help Officer Keenan to be on the same recommendation as me. Sorry about that, Dennis.
Why are these incidents not being publicized in the Ledger, and why aren’t these officers being commended?
Because Chief Robert Crowley has deemed they’re not worthy. Much like the censors of the old Soviet newspaper “Pravda”, Crowley controls exactly how much information is given to the media, and he has absolute control over what’s printed in the “Quincy Police Hot Spots” in the Quincy Sun. By the way, I should mention here we have no problem with the lieutenant who produces that column; he does a good job and is only following his marching orders.
However, my father, who lives in Connecticut and subscribes to the Quincy Sun, would think all that ever happened in Quincy were past B&E’s, unless he talked to me. He even asked me once…."Last week you guys made 73 arrests, what are all these people being arrested for”?
How about stabbing a couple of people, and beating another with a crow bar? The officer who spotted that suspect, who was later arrested, was suggested for the “Job Well Done” section of the “Hot Spots” column by another officer, but was told that Pravda Editor…..I mean Police Chief….Robert Crowley had put the kibosh on it.
So, why is Crowley against positive publicity and giving commendations to his patrol officers? The answer is simple….he never did the job himself, so I believe he has some sort of deep-rooted jealousy against those of us who have done the job, and still do the job. I also believe he has some people at 400 Crown Colony Drive in his back pocket, and has for years. If they haven’t yet, those people will soon realize they’ve hitched their carts to the wrong horse.
Under QPD Rules and Regulations, we (patrol officers) are prohibited from speaking with the media, unless authorized by a supervisor. However, under Federal labor law, much to Crowley’s chagrin, I can speak to the media, as long as I’m acting as the President of the QPPOA. This is a right I haven’t used much recently, something I plan to rectify soon.
I’ll also mention I’ve been a bit remiss in not updating the “Featured Officer” section of this website; my wife just berated me about it the other day. This is also something I plan to take care of soon, because the members of this union are out there, 24/7, doing a great job for the citizens of Quincy, and the public never gets to hear about it. In spite of being frequently understaffed, with a radio system we can’t rely on, expected to do more with less, we get the job done. Believe me when I tell you, we get the job done in spite of Crowley, not because of him.
A few weeks ago, Crowley came to the 4pm-Midnight roll call, to tell us what a great job we were doing. Unfortunately, I missed this rare appearance, since at the time, I was sitting on a beach, drinking a cold Diet Vanilla Pepsi, watching my kids build sand castles, but everyone who witnessed it told me it was completely obvious he was being put-up to it by his handlers, Captain Dougan and Lieutenant Bradlee’s.
NOTE TO THE CHIEF: You can’t enter a room filled with trained observers, and sell them a line of crap.
Gun arrests, drug arrests, saving people’s lives….it all goes down Crowley’s memory hole. Let’s all raise a shot of “Victory Gin” to the hope this won’t continue for long.
Sunday August 27, 2006
2:49 AM
S.O.S.....S.O.S.....Common Sense is Sinking Fast - Bruce Tait
“How am I gonna make a livin’ with these deadbeats?” – Ricky Roma in Glengarry Glen Ross
A couple of years ago, there was an individual in the Quincy Square/Quincy Point area that became a real pain in the ass to us. He would go into bars and restaurants, eat & drink to his heart’s content, then would pretend he didn’t have his wallet, offering to pay with a check. Needless to say, these checks bounced like a super ball, and something like a half-dozen establishments were victimized by the time we caught him. This guy really irritated me, because he was victimizing hard-working people who were just looking to make an honest living.
Unfortunately, the Quincy Police Department has become “that guy”. At least one major police supply store won’t take QPD purchase orders anymore, because they got tired of not being paid without a major fight and long delay. However, this has now been taken to an entirely different level.
A few years ago, a retired Coast Guard 41-foot patrol boat became available for donation to a law enforcement agency. Through the hard work of the QPD Marine Unit, working with Congressman Delahunt’s office, the Quincy Police were awarded the boat, but it came with one catch. While the boat itself was free (or for $1, I forget which) it was in Louisiana, and the agency who took possession of it would have to pay the transport costs. Now, a 41-foot boat doesn’t look particularly big out on the water, but I can assure you, it’s a big boat, because I saw it the night it came in on the transport truck. The cost to transport it from Louisiana to Quincy was $6800. There was allegedly no money to pay this, but the Marine Unit was told if they could raise $5000 in donations in a short time period, the city would cover the remaining $1800.
I think the city secretly thought there was no way to raise $5000 in such a short time period, but they were wrong. Once again, the QPD Marine Unit came through with hard work, and raised the $5000 through private donations. Now, the problem was that someone had to go to Louisiana to actually sign the paperwork, take possession of the boat, and then drive it from one port to another, in order for it to be taken out of the water. A member of the Marine Unit spent his own money on airfare & hotels, went to Louisiana, and did this. He received a big assist from the Coast Guard, who helped him drive the boat to the other port, because all the electronics had been stripped from it, leaving the Marine Unit Officer driving blind. Ironically, this was the same officer who, for his troubles, was later arbitrarily booted from the Marine Unit by Chief Crowley, and then had his gun taken away (see “no gun” entry below) for good measure.
So, with the $6800 now sitting in a special account, waiting to pay the transport company, the boat was loaded onto the trailer of an 18-wheeler, and brought to Quincy. I was just leaving work at midnight when the truck came into the parking lot of the police station, and I have to say I was impressed by the size of it. It was later painted with QPD graphics, had electronics installed, and soon became the centerpiece of the Quincy Police Marine Unit. It was used to provide security for the Tall Ships in Boston, as well as the annual disabled veterans fishing trip.
More importantly, because it can operate under extreme conditions, it’s added important security to Quincy’s coastline, which has some valid terrorist targets, and that always must be on everyone’s mind after 9/11. The Quincy Police Department received an important asset for free, and the transport costs were covered largely by private donations, so that makes it a win-win for everyone, right?
By now, I think you know when I ask those types of questions, they’re rhetorical.
Just like the guy who would pay for his meals with a rubber check, the Quincy Police Department reneged on paying the transport costs for the boat, even though the money is still sitting in that special account. The transport company eventually went bankrupt (maybe because customers like the QPD didn’t pay their bills), but now a collection agency is looking to have the money paid, to repay the creditors of the bankrupt transport company. Realizing that trying to collect money from a municipality is fruitless, the collection agency has moved on to a new target. The new target is the officer who spent his own money to go to Louisiana to take possession of the boat, since he was the point-of-contact for the transaction.
So, in addition to being dumped from his assignment from the Marine Unit, and having his firearm & LTC very publicly stripped away by a chief of police who has no idea what it’s like to be a street cop, because he never did the job for any significant amount of time, that officer now has a collection agency dunning him for a bill which the Quincy Police Department is responsible for, and for which the money already allocated. All Chief Crowley would have to do is make some phone calls to authorize the release of the money, yet he won’t.
Why?
In my opinion, Crowley’s view is that would make it look like that officer “won”, as if doing the right thing and fulfilling your obligations is some type of perverse competition. You see, once you’re on Crowley’s target list, common sense and fairness go out the window. He has no problem attending public events to show-off “his” boat, but I bet no one at these events knows the QPD is a deadbeat organization that doesn’t pay its bills, even when the money is already there.
Of course, Crowley visited the recent disabled veteran’s fishing outing, no doubt to reap the praise for allowing “his” boat to be used to take the veterans out fishing. However, things didn’t go quite the way Crowley planned when he saw former (and soon-to-be-again) Officer Tim Kaes, who was helping carry the veteran’s wheelchairs down the dock ramps. Kaes started to walk over to where Crowley was, because he wanted to personally thank him for trying to end his career as a police officer, and for publicly ruining his reputation.
Naturally, Crowley ran like a scared rabbit. In spite of being a self-anointed “hard-nosed street cop” (I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a more blatant lie in my life), the fastest way to make Crowley disappear is to send someone who either isn’t afraid of him, or has nothing to lose, to confront him. Crowley pulled a similar disappearing act at the recent QPPOA Family Day, probably when he saw the large number of retirees present, many of whom would have literally lined-up to tell Crowley what they thought of him.
Given the nautical theme of this journal entry, it’s quite ironic that it’s become obvious to me, during recent contract negotiations, that city hall is going to circle their wagons around Crowley, protecting him at all costs, no matter how outrageous or ridiculous his decisions and actions are. If they want to be like the band on the Titanic, playing “Nearer My God to Thee” as the ship goes down, so be it.
Until August 16th, everything that’s happened between us and Crowley were minor border skirmishes. Crowley’s very public betrayal of our trust on that date was a declaration of war, and we will respond in-kind. Unfortunately, during times of war, there is always collateral damage, a concept that city hall apparently doesn’t grasp. Much to Crowley's chagrin, I'm the one with the nuclear launch codes, and I plan on pushing every button in the "football". As this is being written, some of our ICBM's are lifting-off from their silos.
So, if you ever happen to see the Quincy Police 41-foot patrol boat in your travels, remember there is $6800 still sitting in a special account, allocated to pay a bill for which a Quincy Police Patrol Officer is now being hounded by a collection agency.
Would any reasonable person blame the officer if he were to be “upset” by this disgusting situation? Certainly not, but we’re not talking about a reasonable person. Show some emotion at the Quincy Police Department, and you’ll soon be joining the empty-holster club.
Friday August 25, 2006
3:05 AM
Patrol this ghost town!!!! - Bruce Tait
“Everyone is entitled to be stupid, but some abuse the privilege” – Unattributed
There are few worse feelings as a cop, when you get a radio call with about 5 minutes left in your shift. Those types of calls usually turn into nightmares, since the really minor things (a parking complaint, dog barking, kids drinking in the woods) are usually held-over for the successive shift. For the emergency calls (robberies, domestics, B&E’s in progress etc.), you just have to suck it up and go. Whatever plans you had for after work are immediately put on hold, because you’re most likely looking at a few hours of paperwork.
Fortunately, those of us who work the 4pm-Midnight shift have a safety valve, referred to as the “impact shift”. These officers work 6pm-2am, and are therefore out on the street while the 4pm-Midnight shift is leaving, and the Midnight-8am shift is in roll call. This coverage is not only important for the officers who would like to go home on time, but also important for the citizens of Quincy. Most violent crime happens at night, as well as most housebreaks. Let’s face it, there aren’t many bar fights at 8am or 4pm. If an emergency call comes in at exactly 12 Midnight (and you’d be surprised how many do), when the 4pm-Midnight officers have left, and the Midnight-8am officers are in roll call, it falls on the impact officers to respond.
Otherwise, one of the dispatchers has to run down a hallway to the roll call room, interrupt roll call, and ask for two officers who are working the area of the call to respond. Those officers then have to go down the same hallway, down a flight of stairs, out a door onto the rear deck of the station, find a cruiser that will start, and then respond to the call. Since they were pulled-out of roll call, these officers will have nothing with them, other than what they walked into the station with, so they may not have an important equipment item with them, such as a flashlight or a box of protective gloves. By the time the cruiser has left the station parking lot, over a minute has already elapsed. If the location of the emergency call is far from the station, like West Quincy or North Quincy, the response time is going to be horrendous.
It’s situations like that, for which the impact shift was created. Because the above scenario is not only plausible, but actually happens on a regular basis, surely the impact shift would always be staffed, 7 days a week?
HAHAHA!!!!!
There are three officers assigned to the impact shift, and because we work a 4/2 schedule (4 days on, then 2 days off), there are always two impact officers scheduled on any given night.
Scheduled.
The reality is that, unlike Chief Crowley, our lives don’t revolve around the Quincy Police Department. We’re people with families, children, and the myriad of responsibilities and commitments that come with that. We need time off from work once in awhile, besides our regular days-off, because we don’t have the luxury, as Crowley does, of waltzing into the police station whenever we feel like it. After having a fight to the death with a desperate junkie in a 100+ degree rooming house (I bet you didn’t know those types of things existed in Quincy), I most likely will feel like taking the next night off.
Can anyone fault me? Well, Crowley could. Having never been a street cop, he doesn’t understand the first thing about an incident like that, and what it feels like to realize you’re in a fight for your life.
Even simple things can dictate when you take time-off. If I’m scheduled to work the afternoon of my son’s first Little League game, guess where I’m going to be? HINT: It won’t be behind the wheel of a Quincy Police cruiser. We see the tragic results of an absent parent way too much to compromise our family lives.
Anyway….if an impact officer takes the night off, the slot is simply unfilled. The reason is that Crowley treats the QPD budget like it’s his own money, and the word “overtime” is considered profanity at 1 Sea Street. This is in spite of the fact that in the past two fiscal years, Crowley has returned nearly $2,000,000 in unspent money to the city.
No, that wasn’t a misprint. Nearly TWO MILLION DOLLARS. We’re going to domestics alone, on an understaffed shift, while our police chief, the man who is supposed to be concerned for our safety, is returning millions of dollars, and won’t authorize overtime to ensure safe staffing levels.
Even when the impact officers are working, the major reason for their being, to cover the shift change at Midnight, has been effectively neutered. Crowley has recently decreed that an impact officer has to go to Marina Bay at Midnight, and walk the “boardwalk” from Midnight until their shift ends at 2am. Under no circumstances is that officer to leave Marina Bay. Even if both impact officers are working on any given night, Crowley has now diminished their effectiveness, because the impact officer on patrol now has to rely on someone being pulled from roll call to assist him on a hot call at Midnight.
I recently communicated with one of the impact officers who had to walk the boardwalk. That night, every business in Marina Bay was closed, with the exception of one nightclub having a private party, and that nightclub had their own detail officer anyway. This officer described Marina Bay as a “barren wasteland”, basically a ghost town, because he was the only person in the area. In the meantime, he heard several of his brother officers (I’m no sexist, there were just no female officers working that night) being pulled from roll call to answer Priority 1 calls. All the while, he walked an abandoned boardwalk.
What possible reasoning could there be for this latest foolishness? I have a few theories;
1) Crowley is providing free security to a Marina Bay business owner, with whom he has a personal relationship.
2) Crowley is looking to play “I spy, with my little eye, a police officer not wearing his hat”, which is almost a capital offense under the Crowley regime. Our radios don’t work, we’re going to dangerous calls alone, and he’s worried if we’re wearing our hats.
3) Crowley is simply looking to make life difficult for the patrol division. Having never been a street cop himself, it seems like Crowley is on some type of crusade against us. I don’t know if it’s jealousy or something else, but he clearly has it out for those of us in the black & whites.
The time will soon come when a Quincy resident needs emergency police assistance at Midnight, and the only police officer in Quincy who is outside the police station at that time is walking an empty boardwalk, with very clear orders to not leave, under any circumstances.
I just pray they’re not killed or injured before we can get to them.
Thursday August 24, 2006
12:55 AM
Public Service Announcement - Bruce Tait
It's probably not well known the Quincy Police Department has three organizations to represent us. The Quincy Police Patrol Officers' Association is the bargaining unit for all patrol officers and detectives, the Quincy Police Superior Officers' Association is the bargaining unit for sergeants, lieutenants, and captains, and the Quincy Police Mutual Aid Association is a fraternal organization, which any employee of the QPD can join, sworn or civilian. They conduct the Police Memorial every year, pay death benefits to the families of current and former members of the department, and also try to foster good relations among all members of the Quincy Police Department. As you can imagine, under the current circumstances, that's quite a tall order.
On September 9th, the Quincy Police Mutual Aid Association is having a fundraiser at WaterWorks in Marina Bay from 12pm-5pm. There will be classic rock & blues music by the band, "The Chowda Heads", featuring Quincy Police dispatcher Russ Deming on guitar and vocals. You can check-out the band on their website;
http://www.chowdaheadsband.com
So, if you'd like to spend a nice afternoon, listening to some great music in an idyllic oceanfront location, while supporting a worthy cause, come on down to WaterWorks in Marina Bay on September 9th from 12pm-5pm. Tickets are $10, and may be purchased at the door.
Tuesday August 22, 2006
9:48 AM
"I'm the Chief" - Bruce Tait
“When you betray somebody else, you also betray yourself”. – Isaac Bashevis Singer (1904-1991).
Recently, three members of this union agreed to accept discipline, in response to second-hand allegations they conducted personal business, while on-duty. The overriding concern of these members was that the incident not be publicized, because these members, rightfully so, didn’t want their excellent records as police officers publicly impugned.
I suspect these members agreed to the “deal” offered by the city, to simply put the incident behind them. Negotiations were held, and a reasonable compromise was reached. A major part of that compromise was that no one, on either side, offer any information to the media. This was a concern, because a newspaper reporter had previously contacted both Chief Crowley and me, seeking comment. At that time, this reporter had so many details incorrect, I was comfortable with threatening a lawsuit against the newspaper, if they published a story based on those facts.
I’ll mention here, the only people on Earth who knew the details of this agreement were the Executive Board of the QPPOA, our attorney Paul Hynes, city labor counsel David Grunebaum, Quincy Director of Human Resources Roberta Kety, the three involved members, and……Police Chief Robert Crowley.
Now, out of that list of suspects, who do you suppose would have any sort of interest in publicizing this incident?
In an amazing coincidence, the Patriot Ledger re-contacted me about this incident. The reporter now had names, dates, and incredibly specific details of the allegations. Gee….I wonder how that happened?
I freely admit I tried some “behind the scenes” action to kill this story in the newspaper, because the three members involved are all great people, who deserved far better than to become headline fodder. In the end, they did nothing that isn’t a daily, accepted practice in the Quincy Police Department.
The allegations against these members are they conducted personal business while on-duty.
Okay.
Anyone who reads this space knows I was a Boston Housing cop for almost 6 years before I was appointed to the Quincy Police Department. Because of that, I had already been to the police academy, so when I was appointed to the QPD, I and another new hire that was already academy-trained were automatically assigned to the QPD Academy, to learn QPD rules and regulations, before we hit the street.
After the lieutenant in charge of the QPD Academy ran out of things to talk about, he decided to have us ride with senior officers, on the day shift. I remember this like it was yesterday, because it was the culmination of a dream.
Since I was 5 years old, and I mean since I was EXACTLY 5 years old, I wanted to be a Quincy Police Officer. Not any police officer, but a Quincy Police Officer. You see, my father used to be an executive at the old Quincy Savings Bank in Quincy Square (it’s now a dentist’s office), and one night, he had to go to the office to do something, This happened to be my 5th birthday, and my dad thrilled both me and my brother by taking us with him. While he was locking-up the bank, my father noticed a Quincy Police cruiser that had stopped at the curb. Apparently, my father had approved a loan or mortgage for this officer, so he really liked my father. This officer and his partner (QPD had two-officer cars then) proceeded to drive my brother and I around the block of Hancock/Temple/Washington with the single rotating blue light and siren activated.
We were beyond excited. At that moment, I knew I wanted to be a Quincy Police Officer, and nearly everything else in my life was dedicated towards that.
So….fast-forward to the first time I ever sat in a Quincy Police vehicle, as a Quincy Police Officer. Even though I had about 6 years experience as a police officer, working in the housing projects of Roxbury, seeing almost every imaginable abomination known to man, I could barely contain myself, as I wanted to help the city I grew-up in, and still lived-in, at the time,
First stop – Dunkin’ Donuts. Fair enough, I would never deny a cop a cup of coffee.
Second stop – Bradlee’s on Quincy Avenue. The officer whom I was riding with, who is now a lieutenant in charge of Internal Affairs, and is therefore in-charge of passing judgment on the on-duty or off-duty behavior of police officers, proceeded to park in the fire lane, load-up a shopping cart with various purchases, including a wastebasket, broom, and other household items, then put it into the trunk of our police cruiser. I remember this clearly, because, as my “partner” was inside Bradlee’s, I literally hung my head in shame, and positioned the sun visor to block the public’s view of me, because I was so embarrassed.
Welcome to the QPD, kid.
The Quincy Police Department has some superb supervisors, people whom I would run through a brick wall for, and I have figuratively done just that. However, there are also quite a few supervisors, like the Bradlee’s lieutenant, who have developed an allergy to gold. Meaning, once they get the gold badge pinned, the symptom of their allergy is to develop a collective case of amnesia. They seem to instantly forget the many instances where they’ve bent the rules themselves, or the fact they were the biggest complainers on the job when they were lowly patrol officers. They become quite impressed with the fact they were able to regurgitate written material onto a test form on a good Saturday or two. Then again, these forgetful supervisors have at least done SOME significant time as a street cop, something Chief Crowley can’t say of himself.
Just in case I haven’t yet written the word “HYPOCRISY” on a baseball bat, then smashed you over the head with it, would you care to guess who “sustained” the allegations these three members conducted personal business, while on-duty?
Yep….Lieutenant Bradlee’s.
Like so many other Quincy Police Officers, I’ve gone from the wide-eyed newbie, who used to look forward to going to work, to someone who starts watching the clock every day, dreading the moment when I have to walk into 1 Sea Street.
So….what did Crowley accomplish by speaking to the media about this, other than to massage his own ego? Nothing positive, I can guarantee that. Why did Crowley very publicly betray the misplaced trust of his officers, yet again? I'm starting to think he simply can't help himself, almost as if he's driven by forces he can't control. The chief of police.
I’m a firm believer in karma, and what goes around, comes around. Very soon, Crowley will be a believer, also.
Sunday August 20, 2006
3:04 PM
On take-home cars & hypocrisy - Bruce Tait
“Television enables you to be entertained in your home by people you wouldn't have in your home”. – David Frost
You can all stop the e-mails and phone calls. Yes…I’ve seen our fearless leader’s recent appearance on Channel 5. For those who haven’t, it will probably be archived here for at least a few days;
http://www.thebostonchannel.com/newsarchive/9700039/detail.html
Channel 5 recently did an “investigative report”, where they followed some Lawrence Police Officers while they used their police vehicles for what appeared to be personal business. Mostly high-ranking members of the police department, these people have been assigned unmarked vehicles they’re allowed to take home. I’ll mention this is far from a rare policy; most police departments allow the command staff to take their vehicles home, and it only makes sense.
For example, Quincy Police Chief Robert Crowley has a take-home Ford Explorer. While the timing of the purchase of this particular vehicle couldn’t have been worse (when the patrol division was driving literal death-trap cruisers), I certainly don’t begrudge Crowley access to a police vehicle, 24 hours a day. He is, unfortunately, the chief of police, and could very well have to respond to a serious situation at any hour of the day or night. It certainly wouldn’t make sense for him to drive from his house to the station, get a cruiser, and then drive to the scene of the incident.
Likewise, one of the Lawrence PD people targeted in this story was a deputy chief who used his unmarked cruiser to drive to Salem for a dinner date. Where is the problem? The man is a deputy chief, and therefore is on-call 24/7. I can almost guarantee that he was subject to having to leave the restaurant, if his cell phone rang with “the” call. Again, should he be expected to stop-off at the police station to collect his cruiser, before going to an incident?
This “story” took a turn from being silly to being petty when they followed a police lieutenant who left the police station in her unmarked cruiser to buy lottery tickets at a convenience store. Now, Federal law mandates rest breaks for all workers, and not even police officers are expected to work 8 hours without a break, unless under emergency circumstances. Considering this lieutenant has a take-home cruiser, it’s reasonable to assume she drove it to the police station from her home. Therefore, if she chose to buy lottery tickets during her break (which is perfectly within her rights), exactly how was she supposed to get to the store? Take a taxi? Thumb a ride?
Some of the locations these officers went to (banks, convenience stores) are also high-profile robbery locations. The fact they took their cruisers with them is also a police safety issue. For example, if that Lawrence Police Lieutenant happened upon a crime while on the way to, or the way back from, buying lottery tickets, her chances of being immediately identified as a police officer by other police officers increases exponentially if she’s next to a Ford Crown Victoria with flashing blue lights in the grille. A woman with a gun standing next to a Toyota Camry…..very different circumstances.
If the point of this needs to be hammered home any more, just a couple of years ago, someone robbed the CVS in Wollaston, passing a note demanding drugs, and threatening the use of a gun. The problem for this genius is he didn’t know there was an on-duty Quincy Police Officer about 3 people behind him in the pharmacy line. Needless to say, the would-be robber and his accomplice were caught & arrested, by a police officer “running a personal errand” while on-duty.
This story went from being petty to being absurd when Channel 5 decided to compare Lawrence to communities of similar size and demographics. They compared 10 other communities, but guess whose police chief decided to comment, on-camera?
BINGO!!
Having just recently been given, and declining, the chance to comment on-camera about an issue that constantly jeopardizes the safety of his police officers (MUCH more on that to come), Chief Crowley apparently decided this was a safe subject. Think again.
Here are some quotes;
"’It's a liability to the city. If there was an accident, and there's a non-police personnel in the car,’ Quincy Police Chief Robert Crowley said”.
Excuse me? We transport non-police personnel in police vehicles, all the time. The people we arrest are non-police personnel (a fact Crowley would love to change, just ask Tim Kaes), and they ride in police vehicles to the station to be booked. When someone’s car is disabled, or totaled in a crash, we give them a ride home. If we see an elderly person walking in a rainstorm, we stop and give them a ride home. If Crowley had ever spent any time as a street cop, which he never did, he’d know about the “community caretaker” doctrine. In addition to being enforcers of the law, we are also the caretakers of the community, which may or may not have anything to do with enforcing the law.
For example, I once participated in what’s called a “relay” of a person who needed transportation. Her car was totaled in Hull, she had just moved here from Oregon, so she had no friends or family to call for a ride, and she lived in Revere. The Hull PD drove her to the Weymouth line, where the Weymouth PD picked her up, drove her to the Fore River Rotary, where I took over, taking her to the Neponset Rotary, where the Boston PD took her further north, so she eventually got home. Non-police personnel in a police vehicle? It’s a daily event.
More quotes;
“When asked if it would be acceptable for personnel to take a car 22 miles away to have dinner in another city Crowley said, ‘Absolutely not.’”
Fair enough. It’s not a secret that Crowley prefers Quincy restaurants and watering holes, so I can’t fault him there.
“When asked if it would be OK to take children to school or to buy lottery tickets or a cup of coffee, Crowley again said ‘no’”.
That’s like an 85mph fastball, right down the heart of the plate, to David Ortiz.
Besides the fact that more than one Quincy Police superior officer regularly uses their assigned police cruiser as a personal family taxi, there is also the fact that, not having children, Crowley has no idea that family always comes first, no matter what. Because Crowley is obsessive about sick time and hiring overtime (among other things), a police officer who is faced with child-care issues (such as dropping their children off at school) is left with two options;
1) Delivering their children to school, while on-duty.
2) Using a sick/vacation/personal day.
By using Option #1, which Crowley stated, on-camera, is not acceptable, the officer stays on-duty, and avoids the hiring of overtime, which is anathema to Crowley. Yet, Option #2 is just as likely to land the officer in hot water, because I think whenever a member of the QPD uses a sick day, a flashing red light & siren are activated in Crowley’s house. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. Remember…….Bizarro World.
Buying lottery tickets and coffee? While I don’t usually play the lottery, as I view it as an income tax on stupidity, I do have my normal daily routine. After roll call, I go downstairs to find my cruiser. After I inspect the cruiser (all the lights/siren in working order, no needles/guns/drugs left in the back seat), I head to Dunkin’ Donuts, where I get my coffee for the evening. Apparently, this is now verboten under the Crowley regime. I guess I had better alter my daily routine, because after all, I very well may have a private investigator following me.
Since Crowley has outlined what he considers unacceptable behavior by on-duty police officers in regard to personal errands, I’m just wondering what other on-duty behavior he considers unacceptable.
Totally hypothetical situation….. Let’s say a Quincy Police Officer, while on-duty, wearing the prescribed uniform of the day, carrying a firearm, drove a marked Quincy Police cruiser to a licensed establishment in Quincy. For the sake of discussion, let’s call it a Chinese restaurant in North Quincy. Again, totally hypothetical.
Again, hypothetically, this Quincy Police Officer dons a civilian jacket over his uniform. For the sake of discussion, let’s assume it was a multi-colored jacket. Just throwing some ideas out there, let’s say it was a blue, green, and purple jacket. Again, hypothetically.
This police officer then proceeds to suck back a few beers, while on-duty, in uniform, carrying a firearm, in full view of people entering and leaving the restaurant. After tossing back some suds, the police officer leaves. Within sight of the licensed establishment, this hypothetical police officer then makes a traffic stop, immediately after drinking some beer himself.
Would this be acceptable on-duty behavior for a member of the Quincy Police Department?
Would it, chief?
Wednesday August 9, 2006
3:08 AM
Welcome to the Quincy Police Department, please check your guns at the chief's office. - Bruce Tait
‘‘Are we at last brought to such humiliating and debasing degradation, that we cannot be trusted with arms for our defense? If our defense be the real object of having those arms, in whose hands can they be trusted with more propriety, or equal safety to us, as in our own hands?’’
- Patrick Henry
One of the first things you learn in the police academy is the history of policing, and that the father of modern policing is Sir Robert Peel, a police commissioner of the Metropolitan Police of London in the 1800’s. He completely revamped the way policing was done, and because of that, British Police Officers are still called “Bobbies”, or “Peelers”. One thing he didn’t do was arm the London Officers, and to this day, most police officers in the United Kingdom don’t carry firearms.
Well, Quincy Police Chief Robert Crowley has taken a page out of Sir Robert’s book, and has introduced something that Quincy hasn’t seen in well over 100 years…..the unarmed police officer.
Without a doubt, the most obvious, or at least the most referenced, symbol of a police officer’s authority in the United States is our firearm. Hands-down, the most frequent questions we get from children are if we’ve ever shot anyone, and if they can see our guns. My son constantly asks me, whenever he sees me in uniform, if I’m going to “shoot the bad guys wif your gum”. Yes, gum….not gun. He’s 4 years old, give him a break.
The really ironic thing is that a police officer’s sidearm is the one piece of equipment that he/she is the least likely to actually use in their career, and that’s just fine with us. It’s an insurance policy, but considering the stakes are pretty high with this job, it’s a pretty damn important insurance policy. I’ve never had to fire my duty weapon outside the practice range, and if I never do, that’s okay with me.
When Robert Crowley became the Quincy Police Chief in July 2004, he almost immediately made quite a local splash by routinely refusing to issue/renew gun permits to Quincy residents. For those who don’t know, the police chief of a city/town is usually designated the “licensing authority” for that city/town, given great latitude to issue/deny licenses to carry firearms (LTC’s). To no one’s surprise, except of course those who got blindsided, Crowley almost immediately began denying LTC applications and renewals. In addition, he also “downgraded” several LTC’s. Massachusetts has several categories of LTC’s, but the Reader’s Digest version is that the “Class A” is the only category that allows the recipient to carry a concealed firearm, as well as carry a “large-capacity” firearm (something that holds 10+ rounds of ammunition). I’ll mention here that the overwhelming majority of cops who work/worked the street (which automatically excludes Crowley) have absolutely no problem with law-abiding citizens carrying firearms. By definition, law-abiding citizens obey the law, so why would any cop fear them?
Crowley’s gun-grabbing got so outrageous that the Quincy City Council had to address it during a council meeting. I’ve seen a video of the council hearing, and it’s both fascinating and disgusting to see people literally line-up to outside the council chambers to have their turn at the microphone. People’s lives were literally ruined, their jobs lost, because Crowley arbitrarily decided to deny/downgrade their LTC renewals.
If it’s any consolation to those people, Crowley’s own police officers haven’t been spared from his firearms jihad. Not long after Crowley became chief, he issued a special order, proclaiming that all sworn Quincy Police Department personnel had to have a valid LTC. This is significant, because Massachusetts General Law specifically exempts police officers from having to have a license to carry firearms. Chapter 41, Section 98 states in part;
“They (police officers) may carry within the commonwealth such weapons as the chief of police or the board or officer having control of the police in a city or town shall determine”.
In other words, if a police officer is issued/authorized to carry a weapon by the police department, then he/she doesn’t need a LTC. I know this to be true, because the Boston Police Department used to (I don’t know if they still do) confiscate any LTC’s of recruits in the academy, and for the first year on the job, they wanted you to carry “on the badge” (under 41-98). After a year, you could apply for an LTC.
A lot of police officers I know are not gun enthusiasts. For many, the only firearm they possess is the one issued by the police department, and even then, some of those officers leave it in their locker at the police department. Clearly, these officers are covered under 41-98. However, as mentioned, Crowley soon insisted that all sworn QPD people have LTC’s. What was the reason for this? Power and control.
Not long ago, I happened to be inside the police station, I honestly can’t remember why, when I saw a member of the department, who was assigned inside the station, with an empty holster. I didn’t think too much of it, because the people assigned inside the station also have to monitor the cellblock, where the prisoners are held, and firearms are strictly prohibited from the cellblock. The theory being, those people are already searched, so introducing a firearm into that environment is asking for disaster, which is reasonable.
However, that empty holster signified something far more sinister, which has been brewing for years. This particular cop was recently the VICTIM of a crime that had domestic undertones. As I said, he was the VICTIM. I want to be perfectly clear on that, and also be clear his assailant was arrested. Unfortunately, the suspect in this case tried an old lawyer’s trick, which is to file criminal complaints against the victim, in hopes the case can be settled before trial. The old “You drop your charges, I’ll drop mine” routine. Filing criminal charges is a ridiculously easy process, one need only to go to the clerk’s office of the local district court, fill-out a form, and the complaints are then filed.
Needless to say, seeing the opportunity to make someone’s life miserable, Crowley pounced into action, albeit almost a month after the incident, and took-away this cop’s issued firearm, and also suspended his LTC. This is very significant, because while the “licensing authority” (Crowley) has say over who gets a LTC, it’s the state who sets the timetable for re-issuance, since they actually produce the plastic card. Therefore, Crowley can pull a police officer’s LTC, then when the time comes he has to reissue, he can raise his hands, with an innocent smile, and blame the 2-3 month delay on the state. All the while, that officer is completely unarmed.
Now, if Crowley had actually spent any significant time in the Patrol Division, mixing it up with the bad guys, he’d know it’s not uncommon for a cop to run into someone off-duty whom they’ve arrested in the past. Sometimes these encounters are benign, sometimes not. Not every police officer chooses to carry a firearm off-duty, but we should certainly have that choice.
Another very interesting tidbit…..The Quincy Police Department Rules & Regulations state that any sworn member of the department shall carry their issued weapon, while on-duty. Specifically, section 3.8.6. of the Quincy Police Department’s General Order covering uniforms & equipment states the minimum for inside uniformed officers;
- Inside Uniformed Officers – Service weapon, extra magazine, magazine pouch, handcuffs, and issued chemical spray
If the persecution of this cop needs to be any more obvious, he has been ordered to work, in uniform, inside the police station, without a firearm. Now, as president of the patrol officer’s union, I reasonably assume I would be notified of any changes in the department’s rules and regulations, and I haven’t. So, Crowley is violating his own rules & regulations, I speculate because he doesn’t want this cop to be put on paid leave (as has been the case in all past similar incidents), and he especially doesn’t want to have to hire overtime to cover the vacant position.
Speaking of violating the rules & regulations, Quincy Police Department General Order 91-22 (Disciplinary Procedures), Section 3.2 states in part;
- Uniformity of Application - Officers will not be subject to discipline based on unjust, capricious, or frivolous complaints.
Apparently, we now will.
Another dangerous aspect of this insanity is when this unarmed police officer heard a radio call for help from a sector car that was dispatched to a disorder directly outside the front doors of the police station. Someone had a razor, threatening to kill himself, but unfortunately, no other close cars were free to help the single officer (stop me if you’ve heard this before).
Because this unarmed police officer knows that another cop in trouble is the highest priority call another cop can hear, he charged outside the station, to help confront someone armed with a razor. If the person with the razor decided to attack, I really don’t think he would have cared too much about who had the empty holster.
I should mention here that this particular cop is a veteran of almost 20 years, who spent many years working undercover, in the drug unit. Having worked drugs myself, I can attest to the unsavory characters you meet/deal with, and as a result, this cop once had a valid, confirmed “contract” out on his life. I can also attest to the long memories of drug dealers, so when Crowley saw the tiniest sliver of daylight, that might justify his suspending this cop’s LTC, he ran with it, leaving a cop, with valid death threats against him and his family, totally unarmed.
Did I mention that Crowley didn’t even read the allegations in the cross-complaint before he decided to yank this cop’s LTC?
Unfortunately, this isn’t the only example of Crowley literally “jumping the gun” in regards to pulling a LTC from a Quincy Police Officer, far from it. Last year, a member of this union was unceremoniously dumped from his position in the QPD Marine Unit, which is responsible for maritime law enforcement along Quincy’s coastline. This particular officer, along with others, invested a lot of his own time and money, turning the QPD Marine Unit from the punch line of a bad joke into a law enforcement unit the city should be proud of. For his troubles, he was reassigned to the Patrol Division by Crowley, “because I can do it”.
Why did/does Crowley have it out for this particular officer? I can only opine it’s because this officer, who suffered a serious shoulder injury in a horrific on-duty motorcycle crash many years ago, has spent some significant time out injured, as he has tried to rehab the injury. That makes him a slacker in Crowley’s eyes, because having never spent any significant time as a street cop, he doesn’t understand that law enforcement is a contact sport, and you’re eventually going to get hurt if you work the street long enough.
Anyway, upon being reassigned, this officer expressed a desire to work a certain sector car that was vacant (no officer regularly assigned to it) at the time. Not satisfied with booting this officer from the Marine Unit, Crowley wouldn’t budge from his decision to not let this officer work that sector, in spite of the recommendation of his shift commander. However, once this officer was able to confront Crowley personally, he relented (stand-up to a bully, and they’ll fold, every time), and this officer worked that sector car for nearly 3 months, with good performance evaluations. No problem, right?
I think you know the answer.
After almost 3 months after being able to work this sector car, and working it satisfactorily, a new lieutenant was assigned to this officer’s shift, and wanted to fill all the unassigned sector car assignments, which means a “re-bid”. You see, under our contract, patrol officers in the Patrol Division can choose what shift and what assignment they want to work, by seniority, once per year. During the last contract negotiations, we made a considerable concession to get this into our contract. So, when the time for the bid came around, this officer was working a paid detail in Quincy Point. The union shift representative called him, asking if he wanted to stay in that sector car. Being one of the most, if not most senior officers on that shift, he could pretty much choose anything he wanted, but decided to remain in the assignment he had. Of course, this was blocked by Chief Crowley, for reasons known only to him. After working this sector car for nearly 3 months, with no problems whatsoever, Crowley decides to throw a monkey wrench into what should have been a very straightforward bid process.
So, the officer, during his lunch break, went to the station to speak with the new lieutenant, as well as the patrol captain (captain being the second-highest rank in the QPD), both of whom tried to intervene on his behalf. No dice. The almighty chief had spoken. Needless to say, this officer was a bit perturbed at this development, because things were becoming a bit too obvious at this point. In any case, he returned to his detail. About an hour later, the lieutenant and captain arrived in a marked police cruiser, with some bad news. I think you know where this is headed.
Crowley had ordered the lieutenant and captain to take this officer’s firearm, radio, and LTC away from him, to be held by the chief’s office. The reasoning? The officer was “upset”.
Well, a fact of life is that everyone gets upset sometimes. I get upset myself. I get upset if my children deliberately disobey me. I get upset if the waitress forgets the soup I ordered. I get upset when I see Rudy Seanez trotting in from the bullpen during a close game. However, I’ve never had the slightest inkling to use a gun, simply because I was “upset”. Even the captain admitted this shouldn’t happen, but he had his marching orders.
If you can believe it, here’s the part where things get REALLY strange. During this cluster, the captain’s cell phone rang. Guess who? Now Crowley wanted this officer to go to the hospital to be “checked-out”. Knowing that refusing to do Crowley’s bidding would result in very bad things, this officer agreed to go, and was told to report to the occupational health department at Quincy Medical Center the next morning, to speak to a psychologist. Because he was “upset”.
So, after having to endure the humiliation of surrendering his firearm in front of a road construction crew, this officer started to leave, with his empty holster, to go home. However, he was then pulled-over by the lieutenant and captain. Yes, pulled-over….blue lights, everything. Crowley had suddenly decreed that this officer needed to go to the emergency room to be “checked-out”. Now losing his patience, the officer once again decided that discretion was the better part of valor, and agreed to go. After speaking with an ER physician, the doctor correctly decided this was a labor relations issue, not a medical or psychiatric issue, and promptly discharged the officer.
Now, that’s the end of the story, right? This officer, who had endured more humiliation in one day than anyone should have to suffer in a lifetime, could finally go home to his family?
Oh, no.
As he was literally walking out the door, he was told by the captain to hold on. Apparently, Crowley found a psychologist who was willing to drive to Quincy Medical Center from Waltham, to examine this officer. Apparently, the decision of an M.D., a physician, wasn’t good enough for Crowley, because he didn’t get the decision he wanted, so he called-in a psychologist, who is not a medical doctor.
Displaying more patience than I probably could have, under the circumstances, this officer agreed to meet with him. After interviewing the officer, during which time, if it were me, I would have told the shrink he was interviewing the wrong person, the psychologist stated he wanted some time to make a decision. After all, he needs to justify the bill he’s going to send to the city. While this was happening, the officer was served with a written notice, signed by Crowley, that his LTC was immediately suspended. Not a couple of hours before, his LTC (the actual card) was merely going to be held by the chief’s office. Now, it was suspended. The reason given was;
MEDICAL CONDITION, STRESS;
This was after a physician determined there was no problem with the officer, and before a psychologist had a chance to decide anything. Crowley, as far as I know, does not possess a medical degree, nor is he any type of licensed mental health professional, yet he made the diagnosis that this officer was having stress issues. My opinion is that Crowley was hoping to elicit an emotional outburst from the officer, in front of the psychologist (who could blame him if he did?), but it didn’t happen.
After a second meeting with this officer (billable hours, baby!), the psychologist deemed him fit to return to full duty. An M.D. and a Ph.D. found this officer perfectly fine to work as a police officer, but he was not restored to full duty for about 2 months, because Crowley had suspended his LTC, and because of his own foolish special order, this officer had to wait for the state to reissue his LTC. During that time, I imagine Crowley was searching for more people with different letters after their last name, to find something wrong with this officer. Perhaps he asked a M.Div. to see if the officer needed an exorcism, because we certainly don’t want demonically-possessed people to have a LTC, do we?
Not that you need any more convincing, but there was recently yet another case of a Quincy Police Officer being stripped of his duty weapon and LTC, under the most outrageous circumstances imaginable, but I’m going to respect that officer’s wish for total public anonymity, and not get into it. Trust me when I tell you, the details would make you sick.
It’s stories like this that make me wish I went to law school instead of the police academy, because some lawyer(s) is/are going to clean-up on this. The last I checked, the civil judgments awarded to employees of the Quincy Police Department for bad decisions of the command staff are well over $500,000.
To be fair, Crowley wasn’t the chief of police for those cases, but just like David Ortiz is on pace to shatter the single-season home run record for a Red Sox player (Jimmie Foxx 50 HR in 1938), I look at the possible lawsuits resulting from Crowley’s rash, vindictive actions as chief, and I see the $500,000 barrier being completely demolished. Once the six and seven-figure civil judgments start rolling in, remember that we’re still out there with portable radios that don’t work.
So, if you suddenly start seeing Quincy Police Officers in uniform, with empty holsters, you now know it’s not a fashion statement.
Monday August 7, 2006
2:00 AM
I'll assist you with the most traumatic incident of your life in a minute. But first, let me tell you of my greatness. - Bruce Tait
“If it’s not broken, don’t fix it” – Contemporary saying
Quincy has a well-deserved reputation for taking domestic violence very seriously. I’ve had more than one woman tell me she moved to Quincy, specifically for the domestic violence programs offered by the Quincy Police Department, and the Quincy District Court. For instance, even though I had 6 years law enforcement experience before I was hired by the QPD, I had a lot to learn about domestic violence. Back then, we were about the only police department in Massachusetts that had to file a written report for each domestic incident, regardless if any criminal charges resulted (this practice is now commonplace). We were also issued small cards, called “victim’s rights cards”, which list a victim’s rights in a domestic incident, including an emergency protective order, as well as phone numbers for several social service agencies. It’s quite a handy thing, you can keep several in your uniform shirt pocket, so you have them whenever you need one. Since they're useful and practical for both the police officer and the victim, you know they couldn’t last long under the Crowley regime.
Sure enough, these handy little cards have now been replaced by a monstrosity that’s filled with so much fluff, I was first tempted to spread peanut butter on it. It’s nice to know that while his officers go to dangerous calls alone, with bad radios, Crowley has found the time to write a self-love pamphlet that doesn’t accomplish anything the old victim’s rights cards did. As a matter of fact, they’re quite a bit worse than the cards that are about 1/10th the size of these new things.
These train wrecks are printed on full-size, 8½ X 11 pieces of paper, which are then folded into thirds, as you would fold a business letter. The cover, naturally enough, features Chief Crowley’s name quite prominently, with “Quincy Police Department Domestic Violence Initiative”. When you open it up, things start to get bizarre, as well as a little sinister. The first thing you see is the mission statement of the Quincy Police Department. I’m not quite sure why the victim of domestic violence needs to know the mission statement of the QPD, especially when it’s just like the mission statements of about every other police agency I’ve seen….some variation of “Let’s form a partnership with the community and sing Kumbaya”. But, whatever. It doesn’t take-up much room, so no big deal.
The next thing is “A MESSAGE FROM THE CHIEF”, where Chief Crowley introduces himself to all the victims of domestic violence, as well as paints himself as the next coming of Bill Parker. As I was reading his message, I could hear the faint strains of “Stars & Stripes Forever” in my head, and again we see the buzzwords “partnerships” and “communities”. I’m sure Crowley viewed himself as the picture above when he penned this gem.
The next thing a DV victim sees is a “Department History”, because after all, once you get cuffed around by your domestic companion, it’s very important to know the Quincy Police Department was established in 1892, or that we have 3 mountain bikes, and patrol 26 miles of shoreline. To make things worse, the numbers aren’t even correct. According to this propaganda pamphlet, Quincy has 85,000 residents, when the “official” census says we have 88,000. With condos and apartment buildings being shoe-horned into every postage-stamp of real estate in Quincy, Crowley wants you to believe we’ve somehow lost 3,000 residents. Of course, the more accurate figure would be 100,000+, but if the truth got out, the city would have to hire more police and firefighters, but that’s a subject for another time. It also says we have 30 marked cruisers, which is a bit of a stretch. If you count the junkers sitting in the parking lot on flat tires, that won’t start, we might have something close to 30. But 30 operable marked cruisers? No way.
The last thing on the front page is a four paragraph diatribe that’s all over the place. Here are some snippets, with my commentary;
“Domestic Violence calls are one of the most complex and dangerous situations today’s police officer encounters”.
That’s true. That’s also why I don’t like going to them alone, due to understaffing, with a portable radio that doesn’t work. Not that Crowley would know a thing about going to domestics, radio or not.
“A caring and enlightening (sp) response by the Quincy Police to a victim can make the difference between hope and hopelessness. The opposite is also true. A non-caring and abrupt response can cause damage that will be difficult to repair”.
TRANSLATION: If you don’t think the responding officer cared enough, file a complaint, so I can stick it to him/her.
“The purpose of this partnership is simple; provide caring, capable, educated officers to aggressively intervene and enforce the domestic violence laws”.
So, before this magical partnership, were Quincy Police Officers uncaring, incapable, uneducated louts who let people beat their companions, without enforcing the law?
The really sad thing about this whole situation is that I guarantee there will be many DV victims who are handed this propaganda pamphlet, who will open it up, see nothing but extraneous crap, and throw it away, not seeing the actual good information, the same information on the old victim’s rights card, which is on the back page.
Just tonight, I was discussing this latest foolishness with some other officers in the station. One of them had the perfect summation….."It gets more ridiculous every day, doesn’t it?"
Yes, it does.
Friday August 4, 2006
3:51 AM
I Have Returned - Bruce Tait
Greetings to all!
To paraphrase Mark Twain, the rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated. I was on vacation for the better part of July, and while there is a saying among cops that any day away from the job is better than a day at work, the QPD has turned it up a few notches, to the point that working a shift at the QPD is barely preferable to pulling oars on a galley. But, I digress.
When I returned to civilization after vacation, my e-mail inbox and voicemail were chock-full of yet more examples of our “leader” in action. I’d like to present a couple of the more outrageous examples, just to whet your appetite for the more serious & involved incidents I’m currently researching.
Example 1 - Just recently, near midnight, a man walking home from work on East Squantum Street had his throat cut by an unknown assailant. Yes, you read that correctly. He was attacked, and his throat was cut by an edged weapon, resulting in a 10-centimeter incision across his throat. Needless to say, you won’t be seeing this in the “Quincy Police Hot Spots” in the Quincy Sun. Anyway, the victim was taken by Fallon EMS “in-town”, which means he was taken to one of the world-class hospitals in Boston. If we have someone taken “in-town”, that usually means their injuries/condition are very possibly life-threatening.
So….as I mentioned, this incident happened almost exactly at midnight. In the Quincy Police Department, our detectives work two shifts, from 8am-4pm, then 4pm-12am. By the time the entire throat-cutting incident was digested, it was well after midnight, so no detectives were on-duty.
No problem, because with a crime so brazen, and so serious, surely some detectives would be called in to handle the case, right?
Wrong.
In his never-ending, and extremely puzzling, quest to save money, Chief Crowley ordered that detectives not be brought in on this case, because that would mean he would have to pay them overtime. No, I’m not kidding, and I proofread everything I write, three times, before I hit the “Submit” button. A Quincy resident had his throat sliced, and the Quincy Police Chief cancelled the detectives who should have investigated it. Instead, a uniformed patrol officer was sent to the hospital in Boston, to conduct the interview. Now, I know the patrol officer who was sent into Boston. He’s an excellent patrol officer, with significant experience as a street cop (something Crowley can’t say about himself), but it’s extremely unfair to send him to do a job, when he’s had no formal training to do the job. As always, under Crowley, dollars trumps common sense at the QPD.
Example 2 – Last weekend, the Braintree Police Department initiated a vehicle pursuit that started at the South Shore Plaza. Anyone familiar with the area knows that the South Shore Plaza is very close to the Quincy line, and sure enough, the suspect led the Braintree PD on a merry chase into Quincy. The chase ended on Willard Street, where the suspect crashed into numerous vehicles. He was arrested on about a bazillion criminal charges by the Braintree PD.
A little background is in order here. The suspect who started all this is a serious bad actor. The last time (of many) he was in the Dedham House of Correction, he was so out-of-control that he was placed into isolation. While there, he defecated into his hand, then used his own feces to write death threats against police officers on the wall. As I said, a bad actor.
Anyway, when the Braintree PD radioed they were in pursuit, it was well after 4pm, when Chief Crowley’s “work” day ends. Nonetheless, “Sierra-9” (Crowley) immediately came over the air, asking the speed, direction, etc., of the pursuit. Fortunately, the pursuit was over by the time Crowley stuck his nose into it. End result….an EXTREMELY bad criminal was off the streets, no one was seriously injured, and the only bad thing was some dented cars. Just to add to the “positive” column for the QPD, the crash/end-of-chase happened on a portion of Willard Street that’s owned/maintained by the DCR, so the state police took the crash report.
End of story, right?
Wrong.
Crowley apparently took offense at another law enforcement agency pursuing a vehicle in “his city” (as if he’s the dictator of Quincy), so he decided to “take action”.
Did he call the Braintree Police Chief himself?
Of course not. That’s not Crowley’s style. Instead, he had a captain (I’d bet my life savings it was Captain Dougan) call the Braintree PD, to tell them that Crowley didn’t appreciate other law enforcement agencies pursuing vehicles and “causing accidents” in his city. Classic Crowley….have someone else do the dirty work.
For all his relentless studying to get promoted (he certainly never had to shag 911 calls, so he had plenty of free time to study), Crowley has apparently never heard of the “fresh & continued pursuit” doctrine. In a nutshell, this means if a Massachusetts police officer initiates a pursuit, that officer can pursue the suspect anywhere in the state, as long as the pursuit is fresh & continuous. That police officer’s authority transfers, anywhere in the state, as long as they’re in pursuit. Another nugget Crowley apparently doesn’t grasp is that any law enforcement agency pursuing a vehicle into Quincy doesn’t need to answer to him.
So, what happened as the result of Crowley’s designated call to the Braintree PD? My sources tell me that the Braintree cops, rightfully so, were extremely pissed-off. I’ve lost count of how many times the Braintree PD has helped us out, especially with K-9 tracks. Because Crowley thinks K-9’s are a “waste of money” (direct quote), we have only one K-9, which is a complete embarrassment to a police department the size of the QPD. Then again, it’s just one more embarrassment to the Quincy Police, in a long line of them.
I’ve also heard from my sources that the Braintree PD was considering not responding to Quincy’s requests for K-9’s, because of Crowley’s designated phone call. I certainly would never fault them for that, but I’ve heard the Braintree PD has decided to take the high-road, since they know the current lunacy comes from one person, and it certainly isn’t from the street cops.
The street cops, which Crowley never was, and never will be. By the way, I have definite proof of that, soon to come.
Stay tuned.
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