Amherst Police Object to Creation of Resident Oversight Board
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Report on the Meeting of the Community Safety and Social Justice Committee, February 12, 2025. Part 1
This meeting was held on Zoom and was recorded.
Present
Debora Ferreira and Allegra Clark (Co-chairs), Lissette Parades, Erica Piedade, Pat Romney, and Everald Henry. Absent: Angelique Ferguson.
Staff: Philip Avila (Assistant DEI Director) and Camille Theriaque (CRESS Director and Town Liaison to the committee).
One of the main recommendations of the Community Safety Working Group’s (CSWG) 2021 final report was the creation of a Residents’ Oversight Board (ROB) to evaluate complaints against the police. After one failed attempt to hire a consultant, a working group was formed this past fall and began meeting in November under the direction of Rabbi Debra Kolodny and another consultant Brian Corr. However, according to the Community Safety and Social Justice Committee (CSSJC) representative to the group, Debora Ferreira, the progress has been slowed due to opposition by members representing the Amherst police unions.
The meetings of the working group are not open to the public and are not recorded and minutes have not been published. The working group has no listing on the town web site and the composition of the group has not been announced publicly although Ferreira said members include: former town councilors Shalini Bahl-Milne and Anika Lopes, Police Chief Gabe Ting, President of the Police Patrol Officers Association Lindsay Carroll, President of the Police Supervisors Union Nicholas Chandler, CRESS Director Camille Theriaque, DEI Director Pamela Nolan Young, Assistant DEI Director Philip Avila, Director of Human Resources Melissa Loiodice-Walker, and Human Rights Commission member Rani Parker. The group drafted a proposed bylaw, which immediately raised objections from the police officers on the committee. The group received a letter on February 7 from the labor and employment lawyers representing the Amherst police union (Pyle Rome Ehrenberg PC) that offered seven objections to the proposed bylaw, including stating that the police did not see a need for an oversight board at all.
The seven objections:
- The unions do not agree with the bylaw’s proposed reasons for creating the ROB. The bylaw’s stated purpose for the ROB — to “strengthen trust and safety between Amherst residents and all Amherst public safety departments” – is unnecessary because there is already a robust relationship between the APD and the community built on trust and safety.
- The unions believe that transparency and accountability already exist between the Amherst Police Department and the community, including Black, Indigenous and People of Color
residents. - The bylaw’s stated purpose for the ROB to “review and advise on investigations of [external] complaints” is unnecessary. Members of the community can contact the APD (anonymously, if they wish) to report alleged police misconduct and/or to commend officers for exceptional service to the community. Community can also report complaints outside of the APD to the Town Manager’s office, the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) department, to the Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission (POST Commission), or to the District Attorney’s office. In addition, The Town maintains a host of community-related programs and departments, including the Community Safety Social Justice Committee, the DEI Department, and the Community Responders for Safety and Service (CRESS) program.
- Because of the numerous programs already in place within the Town and the APD to address issues and concerns that arise within the community, the unions believe that negative comments about the police department come from a vocal minority and mostly appear to be an issue of perception, where community members do not understand the reasoning for an officer’s actions, thus creating a “perception versus reality gap.” Members of the unions have found that the vast majority of the community understands and supports the work of the APD
- The unions object to the bylaw’s proposed exclusion of current [or former] employees of the APD or immediate family member of an APD employee from the ROB.
- The unions object to the bylaw’s proposal to have the ROB engage in oversight of complaints of police officer misconduct. The APD and the Commonwealth’s POST Commission already provide sufficient investigation and oversight of complaints regarding police officer misconduct.
- The ROB’s participation in the creation and revision of public safety department policies and procedures has the potential to violate the state’s labor laws.
These assertions conflict with data presented to the working group by Rabbi Kolodny at the outset of their meetings that demonstrated a need for an ROB. The data were collected in December 2023 and January 2024 through two public forums, an online survey, and outreach at several service sites. Thirty-one of 72 residents who shared their interactions with the APD stated that they had a negative experience. Twenty-eight of the 31 were BIPOC residents. Ninety percent of the respondents who expressed an opinion on the need for a ROB, were in favor. These results are similar to the findings of the participatory action research done by 7Gen for the Community Safety Working Group (CSWG).
Ferreira stated that, in this time of high anxiety, it is critical to have an ROB, independent of the APD, to ensure due process for both residents and police officers. She noted that, even though CSWG developed a blueprint for the ROB, the working group wanted to start anew and to broaden the scope of the ROB to include oversight of CRESS and the Amherst Fire/EMS Department. According to the draft bylaw, discipline of officers would still remain with the APD.
Many of the CSWG recommendations have been stripped from the proposed bylaw, removing much of the authority of the ROB. There will be no stipend for ROB members, and when the group does not agree with the police response to an incident, the police chief will summarize the ROB’s concern, but no action response is required. Ferreira said, “I’m really concerned that this might end up being a diluted, weak advisory group that will have no power, no teeth, and no authority to do anything. No one is going to trust it, and no one is going to utilize it.” She added, “It’s interesting that the police don’t see this as a benefit for them because right now there’s a lot of mistrust and it’s only going to get worse under this environment we’re living in, in terms of fear.”
CSSJC Co-chair Allegra Clark advocated for a local ROB, because it took two years for the town to get a response from the Massachusetts POST Commission regarding the July 5, 2022 incident between nine teenagers and the police. “POST is not going to be expedient in addressing concerns,” she said. She added that the changes requested by the police union would turn the ROB into a public relations mechanism for the APD, validating police conduct.
CSSJC member Everald Henry asked why the police officers are still on the committee if they object to the concept of an ROB. He thought their attitude should be brought to the attention of the Town Council, which, he said, needs to affirm its strong support for the ROB. Ferreira stated that if the Town Council adopts the bylaw created by the working group, the police union will have to accept the provisions in its bargaining and its training. She noted that Police Chief Gabe Ting has continued to engage with the group and has not expressed the same resistance as the police union members. However, she said Ting also does not think there is a problem at the APD that would necessitate a ROB.
Because the working group meetings are not open to the public, Clark suggested having a public forum to obtain community input to the draft bylaw before it is presented to the Town Council for approval.
In public comment, CSWG member Russ Vernon Jones stated, “The ROB is not anti-police. It really is about building relationships between the police and the community. We [CSWG members] talked to stakeholders before we put out a recommendation. We listened to a lot of things, but this was the one piece we took to the Town Manager and then [former] Police Chief Livingstone, and both said they could support this with the possible exception of granting subpoena power to the ROB. Any retreat from this is really a betrayal of trust. The ROB must have certain authority to hear complaints, investigate complaints, and an ability to hire paid impartial investigators if necessary. It must have the opportunity to recommend what is the response–what’s the discipline, the supervision, the further training that should come about as a result of whatever it was that was complained about and seek agreement with the Police Chief. If the Police Chief and the ROB cannot reach an agreement, then the chief puts in writing why he’s not accepting the recommendation of the ROB that can be seen by the public and the recommendation will be shared with the Town Council. The actual discipline of police officers remains with the chief.” He concluded, “This is about building trust in the community, and this is what these boards do across the country. They make for better policing because they build trust. Policing that’s ineffective or inequitable is not in anyone’s interest.”
At the close of the 3 ½ hour meeting, Pat Ononibaku, a former member of both CSWG and CSSJC, stated, “Deb (Ferreira), I’m not sure that Town Council and even Paul (Bockelman) truly understand the role you play in our town, that you do speak for us, you do speak for marginalized groups in our town, and they should start listening to you, because without you and this committee we won’t know a lot of things happening in our midst. This work is very hard. It breaks my heart that there is a ROB bylaw committee and it was just you fighting for the marginalized groups. That is so depressing, and yet we call our town a liberal community. If the ROB is something that white people want, it would have been established two or three years ago. What I don’t get is people that look like me just keep silent and act like let’s be nice and keep the peace.”
I’ve been a member of this Board on behalf of the Human Rights Commission. I have attended all but the last meeting. It is not a secret. You can find all the information at https://www.amherstma.gov/3832/Resident-Oversight-Board
True Rani, there is a web page for the Resident’s Oversight Board working group, but it has no minutes and does not even list who is on the working group. The last agenda posted was for January 7–“getting to know each other”. The letter from the attorney for the police union and the draft bylaw are not on the site. This group seems to be doing its work out of the public eye–there is no attempt to get feedback from the public or for the public to know what is discussed. Thank you Debora for letting the CSSJC know at a public meeting.
Objections of the police union seem pretty weak, if not knee-jerk. The are not substantiated with any facts, that is, as far as I can tell they are opinions. Good work on the part of the Resident Oversight Working group! Clearly you have touched a nerve and your work points to a resident oversight board as sorely needed.
Doing court-appointed criminal defense legal work, I learned first hand that there really is a police “thin blue line” that enables us middle-class folks to sleep cozy in our beds at night while police cruisers patrol the streets 24/7 in all kinds of weather, waiting for our 911 call. They literally put their lives on the line with every traffic stop and every domestic disturbance. The seven Amherst Police objections to a Resident Oversight Board are well founded and should be heeded. From what I have seen being a resident of Amherst and neighboring communities (first Leverett, then Shutesbury) since 1975, such a board will: (1) have the operative effect of hamstringing effective police work and (2) make recruiting qualified new officers (already a difficult task) virtually impossible. In Gabriel Ting, Amherst has a first rate police chief. Let him do his job please.
Well said and thank you Michael Pill. Amherst is lucky that Gabe Ting is our Chief of Police. Earlier in his career I worked with him extensively as an Amherst homeowners’ association representative and also in a professional capacity working on large-scale utility infrastructure upgrades in town.
How many people on these committees have offered to do ride-alongs with APD? If so, how many? And how often? And in what kind of weather? Or some other form of embedment that would give them even a glimpse of what APD does day after day, night after night. What kind of hard work have they put in over what span of time to understand what the APD’s job is like. Qualitative surveys are not a proxy for this kind of engagement.
Have the police apologists in this comment section ever been victims of police violence? Have they ever had a family member or loved one thrown to the ground, beaten, arrested or detained unjustly? Have they ever even taken the time to listen to the lived experiences and testimony of their working-class neigbors of all backgrounds and their experiences with the police, the hours of testimony recorded by the CSWG which outline, in detail, decades of overreach, abuse, casual neglect, racial and class bias present in our PD? Or do the professional landlords and junior cops of the HOA just love police because they protect property and capital? “Why don’t the hens just go on a ridealong with the foxes and see for themselves?”
When is the last time there has been a case of physical police violence in Amherst? I don’t recall ever having read about someone being thrown to the ground or beaten in Amherst. Amherst needs to focus on its own, national embarrassments notwithstanding.
Dana, this is like asking: why should we audit the President’s taxes when he promised us he doesn’t owe anything, all while he’s defunding the IRS. The current police abuse reporting system is a joke. These complaints are “monitored” and “investigated “ by department leadership and their so-called union is one of the most aggressively litigious organs of state power out there. The town council and the “manager” are constantly bowing and scraping to the cops, apologizing for public criticism, even sending them little gift baskets after George Floyd’s murder. So who watches the watchmen? The insidious thing about cop violence in a place like Amherst, is that it’s obscured by the powerful assumption that our own police would “never do something like that.” They’ve gotten used to no accountability and no oversight, just like cops all over the country. Have you listened to the testimonies from 2020? For people in this town who are actually working class and have connections to working class and marginalized people in town, we hear these stories. Maybe you haven’t been exposed to these stories yet? They are not as rare as you’d like to believe and not all violence is physical.
Perhaps such complaints are not public record or some who have them do not file complaints. After all, it’s not often easy to fight town hall, let alone the “blue wall of silence”.
The behavior of the police with the anti-war protesters on the UMass campus last spring sounded pretty physical from what I read. I’m not sure if local police were involved or was it only state officers?
Thank you Arlie. Yes, I forgot to mention this: There were definitely APD officers present. Local outlets reported on it and I spoke with an officer a couple days afterwards who also confirmed. Folks can take a look at this article from the Shoestring. It’s one piece that details acts commited by the police present, as recoreded on their own body cam footage, obtained by a member of the public. Included was footage of officers tackling, thorwing to the ground and punching UMass students and faculty. One state PD sergeant was on camera threatening to break protestor’s bones and bragging about punching another “in the gut.” The issue I have is this: if the town and state react this way to small, peaceful demonstrations against war crimes abroad, how will they react to other demonstrations of public will? What if residents want to protest the activity of the Trump admin, for instance? What if Trump and cronies cause massive disruption to the economy and supply chain, as it looks like might happen, and people take to the streets demanding action from leaders? Effective protest is, inherently, disruptive to the status quo… how hard are local and state cops willing to beat us?
https://theshoestring.org/2025/01/27/punched-tackled-brutalized-body-cam-footage-reveals-police-behavior-at-umass-crackdown/
Rita and Arlie, the PD makes their call logs available to the public and all complaints against officers are part of the public record. Not just locally, at the state level as well. The actions against the students were perpetrated by state police and UMass police, not APD.
Jonathan you specifically mention physical violence in your first comments, that’s why I spoke to that. How one grows up in a working class home varies person to person. I took grew up in one, I know what it’s like to see your constantly argue about finances. I just have different opinions than you do.
What I find surprising is that during the age when everyone has a camera/video camera in their pocket there is no visual evidence. No bystander recordings of physical violence. We live so much of our lives online,.
Jonathan Sivel: Dana Stevens poses some excellent info and observations. Right in the caption of the photo at theshoestring.org that you linked above, it clearly states the MSP and UMass PD were the ones involved, not the APD.
And, without going into details, I do indeed have some experience with being on the receiving end of police activity in both the US and Eastern Europe. Also, my mother graduated from Little Rock Central High School in 1958 and was friends with 3 of the Little Rock 9. Also also, my grade school was 60% African American students, many of whom were my friends. I’d wager it’s highly unlikely that any of those aspects that shaped my world view will likely carry any weight with you, because you seem like you already have all the answers.
The sum of your comments, assertions, and linked info add up to using an emotional argument to counter a rational argument. If you have kids or work with kids, you might already know how that turns out.
Our previous Police Chief, Scott Livingstone, frequently pointed out that it had been over 40 years since an Amherst police officer had fired their service revolver in the line of duty. He made this observation by way of arguing that the problems of police violence in other communities were not problems in Amherst. That claim had always struck me as setting a very low bar.
I have lived in town for more than 40 years, and as long as I have lived here, complaints about the APD’s insensitivity to Residents of Color, manifest in testimony for example about the APD stopping folks for driving while black or brown, or harassing Youth of Color for acting suspiciously or for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, or the APD being insensitive when answering calls to a household of color; these things have been plentiful and constant in my time here. And this was affirmed for the community in 2021 when then Community Safety Working Group (CSWG) conducted months of hearings in which Amherst Resident of Color after Amherst Resident of Color came forward to attest to unacceptable, discriminatory treatment that they had witnessed or experienced themselves at the hands of the APD.
Following the compilation of this testimony, there were white folks who came forward, not only to defend the APD but to assert that those with complaints and concerns lacked credibility. But given the long and consistent concerns that have accumulated over my 40+ years in town, and given what I have heard from my own friends and neighbors,I would say that what we are doing in this town to ensure racial equity, and racial justice where they police are concerned, is not working. And I say that even if our local police have not beaten anybody in recent memory,complaints about the police should not be adjudicated by the police themselves and the proposals developed by the CSWG in 2021 in partnership with the Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP), and the 7Gen Consulting Group, ought to be given a full and fair hearing. The fact that our police undertake difficult and dangerous work, as some have noted in this comment section, should not in any way absolve them of accountability.
https://www.amherstma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/59329/LEAP-Amherst-Police-Policy-Review-Report-
https://www.amherstma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/55902/7GenMC-Final-Report-to-the-CSWG-552021
An emotional response? Oh, pardon me I forgot that expressing emotion invalidates one’s intellect. Incidentally, Bryan, you ever read bell hooks? Here’s a tidbit for you: “ The first act of violence that patriarchy demands of males is not violence toward women. Instead patriarchy demands of all males that they engage in acts of psychic self-mutilation, that they kill off the emotional parts of themselves. If an individual is not successful in emotionally crippling himself, he can count on patriarchal men to enact rituals of power that will assault his self-esteem.” I think it’s from The Will to Change, someone smarter than me will know for sure 😉
From further shoestring coverage:
After pressing the crowd away from the arrests, police refused to let anyone — including identified press and legal observers — near the encampment. Officers tackled several students near the encampment, pinning them to the ground before handcuffing them. Other police brandished pepper spray at face level toward unarmed protesters, including one with the name Ting on his uniform and his rank displayed as captain. Gabriel Ting is the Amherst Police Department’s new chief, having previously served as a captain.
“It’s not a weapon, it’s defensive,” he told those who expressed concerns about the chemical spray.
https://theshoestring.org/2024/05/09/after-violent-arrests-umass-pro-palestine-protestors-seek-chancellors-ouster/
I’ll say one last thing then let it go for the weekend. Ask yourselves, please: Could it be, the reason I don’t hear these stories is that the people who experience them don’t trust me enough to talk to me about it with me?
Clarifying the Work of Amherst’s Residents’ Oversight Board Advisory Committee
As a former town councilor, I am honored to serve on the Residents’ Oversight Board (ROB) Advisory Committee and committed to ensuring that the hard work of the Community Safety Working Group (CSWG), Town Council, and town staff with respect to the creation of a ROB reaches successful fruition. Our committee’s goal is to help create a ROB that is aligned with the Town of Amherst’s commitment to eradicating the effects of systemically racist practices in Town government and Town-affiliated organizations.
The publication of the recent Amherst Indy article has raised many questions and concerns about our work.
I am writing this response as an individual with experience as a former town councilor and do not represent the full ROB Advisory Committee. The committee will provide a more comprehensive explanation of our work and suggested bylaws when we have made further progress on drafting.
Meanwhile, here are some clarifications that I hope will prevent further speculations and misinterpretation of the work we are all doing with earnestness to support the resolution passed by the Town Council to be an anti-racist town.
Foundational Context
The Town Council voted to authorize the Town Manager to create a Residents’ Oversight Board based on recommendations made by the Community Safety Working Group in 2021. To implement this directive, the Town Manager hired two consultants (Brian Corr and Rabbi Debra Kolodny) and formed our current committee, which includes diverse stakeholder perspectives and experiences, to draft bylaws for Council consideration.
Our committee’s role is to develop effective bylaws through a collaborative stakeholder process that considers the CSWG recommendations alongside practical implementation concerns, legal requirements, and diverse community perspectives. The Town Manager formed this committee with representation from various stakeholders specifically to work through complex questions of structure, authority, and process to create a sustainable oversight mechanism that will serve Amherst well.
We acknowledge the statement from a former CSWG member that “The ROB is not anti-police. It really is about building relationships between the police and the community.” We agree with this sentiment. There are specific expectations that the CSWG envisioned for the ROB, including the authority to hear and investigate complaints, make recommendations regarding discipline and training, and a process for resolving disagreements between the ROB and the Police Chief. These elements are being considered in our drafting process.
The advisory process is designed to bring stakeholders together to find solutions that meet the interests of our community while respecting the original intent of the recommended initiatives.
Process and Progress
Our committee was tasked with drafting proposed bylaws for Town Council consideration. We have made meaningful progress, reaching agreement on significant portions of the ROB’s general purpose and reporting structure. While we are still working through some important components where consensus has not yet been reached, productive discussions continue.
The bylaws currently under discussion are draft documents designed as starting points for deliberation, not finalized proposals. Our work is guided by key interests that have been identified through prior meetings, including:
• People feel and are safer
• Diversity, equity, and inclusion are front and center
• The ROB has appropriate authority
• The ROB is independent of the police
• The ROB is legitimate and credible to the community
• The ROB has police buy-in
• The ROB is perceived as and is just
• The ROB builds trust amongst all parties
• The ROB is legally sound
• Transparency in processes and outcomes
• Accountability for all parties
• Supporting full cooperation of all parties
• Creating positive impact in the community
• Treating police as equal with other municipal employees
Public Input
Though the working group does not hold public sessions, this follows a standard model used frequently in Amherst for developing proposals. In addition to police feedback in the stakeholder group, community perspectives have been incorporated through:
• The Community Safety Working Group report, which included data collected from 41 residents
• A second data collection project that including another 72 testimonies about police interactions
• Direct participation of four community representatives on the committee
• Representation from the CRESS Director and Assistant Director of the DEI department
The committee includes diverse perspectives from Amherst residents. The community representatives and two non-police Town Staff are BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color). In addition, the Community Safety and Social Justice Committee (CSSJC) and Human Rights Commission (HRC) each have a representative on our committee who report to their respective bodies.
Each of the 113 residents who courageously shared their experiences has provided invaluable insights that help guide our understanding of community needs. Their stories matter deeply and have been instrumental in bringing us to this point of creating a Residents’ Oversight Board.
While these voices are powerful and meaningful, we recognize that our community of approximately 40,000 people contains many more perspectives that we haven’t yet heard. This is precisely why our committee was formed with diverse representation and why we’ve engaged expert consultants with experience working across many different communities. Together, we’re working to ensure the ROB will effectively address our specific community’s needs while drawing on best practices from other successful oversight models.
Clarification on Police Position
The headline “Amherst police object to the creation of Resident Oversight Board” is misleading. The letter referenced in the article came from lawyers representing the Amherst police unions, not the Amherst Police Department itself. This is an important distinction. Chief Ting has consistently expressed support for establishing an ROB, even while acknowledging concerns about its specific structure and implementation.
Next Steps
The community will have opportunities to provide input when the proposal is reviewed by the Town Council.
If our committee reaches consensus, a single proposal will go to the Council. If we cannot reach full consensus, we will submit a document with all agreed-upon language along with options for sections where agreement wasn’t possible.
The Community Safety and Social Justice Committee (CSSJC) and Human Rights Commission (HRC) each have a representative on our committee who report to their respective bodies.
Balancing Original Recommendations with Implementation
We recognize the importance of honoring the CSWG’s recommendations while developing practical bylaws that can be effectively implemented to protect and promote the identified interests. The core functions identified by the CSWG—including the authority to hear complaints, investigate complaints, recommend appropriate responses, and maintain transparency when disagreements arise between the ROB and Police Chief—remain central considerations in our work.
At the same time, we must ensure the resulting bylaws create a structure that is legally sound, operationally effective, and sustainable over time. Finding this balance requires careful deliberation and, at times, adaptation of original concepts to address practical realities.
We believe a thoughtful, deliberative process that respects both the spirit of the original recommendations and the complexities of implementation will result in the strongest possible oversight mechanism for Amherst.
Our Commitment
The committee remains committed to developing an ROB that addresses the needs of Amherst residents while supporting effective policing. We believe that a well-designed oversight mechanism, created with input from both the community and law enforcement, will strengthen trust and accountability in our town.
We appreciate the community’s interest in this important work and are dedicated to creating a fair and effective oversight structure that serves all Amherst residents.
Once the committee has made more progress, we will provide a more comprehensive explanation of our work and suggested bylaws, along with the reasoning for the choices made.
Submitted by Shalini Bahl, PhD, Former Town Councilor, Mindfulness Teacher, and Member of the Residents’ Oversight Board Advisory Committee