Larry Calderone says ‘morale is very low’ in Boston police union
The head of Boston’s largest police union said he’s been “very surprised” at the violence and anger directed at officers in the wake of the murder of George Floyd.
“Morale is very low right now,” said Larry Calderone, president of the Boston Police Patrolman’s Association. “I’m sad to say it might be the lowest it’s ever been in my entire career.”
Calderone pointed the melee in Boston last May 31 days after Floyd’s death, saying things have remained heated since between police and the public.
“It’s extremely hurtful to continually hear the same rhetoric — not only from some of the anarchists from outside of Boston but from our own elected officials as well,” Calderone said in an interview with Jon Keller on WBZ-TV. “We’re looking for somebody to stand up for us.”
Calderone will be one of nine members named to the Massachusetts Peace Officers Standards and Training Commission, created through the landmark police reform law passed this year.
The department has been under fire following a spate of scandals including the ongoing prosecution of police overtime abuse and issues surrounding a 1990s-era domestic abuse allegation against Police Commissioner Dennis White. Acting Mayor Kim Janey will hold pre-termination hearing on Wednesday to decide the top cop’s fate.
An independent investigator wrote a report released more than two weeks ago detailing two internal affairs investigations from the 1990s and other allegations of domestic violence. White denies he abused anyone.
The patrolman’s union itself has also been caught up in a recent scandal after former longtime union head Patrick Rose was charged with multiple counts of child rape. Rose was investigated for similar charges in 1995 and an internal affairs examination sustained the allegations. Despite those findings, Rose remained on the force and went on to serve as president of the union.
Calderone on Sunday didn’t touch on the various scandals confronting the department, instead focusing his comments on the attitude around policing in the wake of the murder of George Floyd.
“I have stated that we don’t have these issues here in Boston, Massachusetts and I’m very proud of that,” Calderone said.
He said it’s still “unknown” if the union plans to endorse a candidate in the upcoming mayoral election.
from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/34A8oOx
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