Opinion: A Call for a Town-wide Conversation on the Mission and Values of the Amherst Police Department

In May of 2024, a coalition of Massachusetts State Police, UMass Police and Amherst Police (APD) broke up a peaceful student encampment on the UMass Amherst campus . This encampment had no known incidents of violence or threats to anyone’s safety.  Chancellor Reyes ordered this police intervention which then happened at night. There were many arrests and some people were injured when thrown to the ground and had police officers kneeling on their backs. The University subsequently imposed many harsh punishments upon the students and townspeople who had been at the encampment or had been present during the police raid. 

One question a group of us have is why was the APD there participating in this violent putdown of free speech? So when we met with Police Chief Ting, Town Manager Paul Bockelman, President of the Council Lynn Griesemer and Councilwoman Pat DeAngelis, we had prepared ourselves by obtaining a copy of the MOU outlining the mutual aid agreement between the university and the town.  In that document are these words:  “If an action is asked of us that violates any of our policies and procedures, laws, or puts us in a position that is contrary to the department’s values and mission, then those actions will be questioned.”

Among other issues discussed at that meeting was a conversation about that phrase. I’m afraid that we were not able to reach any clarity with Chief Ting about what it meant to him. He also stressed that he does his own assessment of the situation upon arriving at the scene of the request for aid. After assessing the situation on the UMass campus on May 7, 2024, Ting did not feel that it would be appropriate for the APD to leave the scene, even though he was surprised by the size of the police presence already there when he and his officers arrived. Ting expressed his support for free speech in our town historically and in the future.

This event and the many horrific recent instances of people being picked up by ICE agents or students having their visas revoked, happening on campuses and in towns and cities across the country, has led us to be extremely concerned for the welfare of student protesters, immigrants, and frankly, anyone protesting anything that the US government supports. 

We would like to see a town-wide conversation happen with town leaders and Chief Ting to discuss how the APD will respond in the future when asked by any other municipality, or UMass, or the federal government, to participate in actions that violate our principles, and/or stand a good chance of igniting violence and a degradation of our trust in our town leaders and police department, as did the May arrests at UMass. It is not a stretch of the imagination that in due time, the federal government will ask our police to assist them in locating certain people and/or to assist them in the roundup of those people.  

Our group has asked Council President Griesemer to hold a town-wide discussion of these topics. Her response was that this can only occur if we first present to her a written proposal for either a change in policy and procedures or a brand new set of policies and procedures outlining do’s and don’ts for how Amherst town government will respond to any future requests from any entity for police cooperation and/or assistance.

One way, and it now seems the best way to begin this process is by writing an amendment to the mutual aid agreement clearly spelling out what “contrary to the department’s values and mission” actually means.  This could stimulate a conversation between the town government and the community as to what those values are and what the mission of the APD is, and how best to give cover to the APD to decline requests from any other government entity.

Read More
Mutual Aid Agreement between the UMass Police Department and the Amherst Police Department

Amherst Police Department Policy on Concurrent Jurisdictions

Gerry Weiss, a psychotherapist, was a member of the Amherst Select Board from 2004 to 2010 and a member of Town Meeting for 19 years.