By Luis Fieldman
Source masslive.com
A state commission has found 19 police officers unfit to serve in Massachusetts law enforcement and will be “off the job” as a result, a report says.
CBS Boston reports that 19 officers failed to become certified with the Peace Officer Standards and Training, also known as the POST Commission. The certification process comes after state legislatures required all police officers to undergo a background check a few years ago. The commission represents the first of its kind effort in Massachusetts to certify officers in an effort to bring accountability to police departments.
A spokesperson for the POST Commission declined to verify that 19 officers failed certification.
“As was reported at the last POST Commission meeting, there are a number of police officers currently “conditionally certified” and whose cases are under further review. The POST Commission is continuing to assess all conditionally certified cases and will not comment on any individual case,” read a statement by Executive Director Enrique Zuniga, provided for by POST spokesperson Cindy Campbell.
The POST Commission was established in 2020 as a criminal justice reform effort to improve trust between local law enforcement and the communities they serve.
The commission first began processing the first set of Massachusetts officers up for recertification, including the 19 officers let go, which included 8,729 police officers whose names begin with the letter A through H. The commission has another two years to process the rest of the officers.
In April, police organizations and unions filed a lawsuit against the commission, calling them “highly invasive, improper, unfair, and irrational.” No decision has been made on the lawsuit, Boston.com reported.
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