Following a two year investigation, the U.S. Justice Department recently released a 41 page report that found the police department in Worcester, MA allowed officers to engage in sexual contact with women suspected of being involved in the commercial sex trade. The report also found that officers engaged in discriminatory policing and excessive force.
“Excessive force and sexual misconduct at the hands of officers who took an oath to serve and protect deeply diminishes the public’s trust in its sworn officers," acting U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy for the District of Massachusetts said in a written statement.
“The actions by certain officers who engaged in this conduct are not a reflection of the many hard working and ethical officers at the WPD who did not engage in such misconduct," he said.
Specifically, as detailed in the investigative report, the Justice Department finds that:
- WPD uses excessive force, including unjustified uses of tasers, police dogs and strikes to the head. Officers rapidly escalated minor incidents by using more force than necessary, including during encounters with people who have behavioral health disabilities or are in crisis. WPD’s use of excessive force violates the Fourth Amendment.
- WPD has allowed certain officers at times to engage in outrageous government conduct and violate the constitutional rights of women suspected of being involved in the commercial sex trade by engaging in sexual contact while undercover as part of official investigations. This violates the 14th Amendment’s Due Process Clause.
Brian T. Kelly, a lawyer representing the police department, said police and city officials have cooperated with the federal investigation. He called the report “unfair, inaccurate and biased.”
“Instead of identifying individual officers who could — and should — be prosecuted if these serious allegations were true, DOJ has prepared a report by civil lawyers with no prosecutorial experience which makes incredibly broad allegations but fails to identify a single corrupt officer,” Kelley said in a written statement.
“The report is riddled with factual inaccuracies and ignores information provided by the city which debunks many of the anonymous claims,” he added.
