police Archives

THIN BLUE LINEAGE

What’s up with all those flags lining the roads outside of Boston? Once only an occasional sighting, these flags, stickers, and other apparel have become increasingly common not just south of Boston, but all across the Commonwealth.

BRIAN Z. ZAYATZ October 2, 2018

ATTACK OF THE PEACE POLICE

Despite cries from advocates and experts, heavily armed SWAT teams are increasingly deployed to nonviolent protests in Mass

SETH KERSHNER June 7, 2018

CHILDREN AND SWAT RAIDS

The unintended consequences of militarized police in Massachusetts homes At 5 a.m. on a hot August night in 2015, a van carrying the Worcester SWAT team pulled up outside a triple-decker on Hillside Street. The officers were wearing body armor, ballistic helmets and camouflage clothing. They came bearing shotguns, handguns

SETH KERSHNER March 1, 2018

SEX, CONSENT AND CUSTODY

Is there a loophole in Mass law that helps cops who rape perps? Earlier this month, BuzzFeed published an explosive article about a New York City teenager accusing two police officers of raping her while she was in custody. The entire story is harrowing. But one aspect seems especially pertinent — as it turns out,

KORI FEENER February 25, 2018

AND THEN THERE WERE FIVE

This originally appeared as a two-part story centering around police officers injured and allegedly injured during the shootout with Boston Marathon bombers in Watertown on April 19, 2013. It was published in multiple newspapers around Massachusetts including the Brockton Enterprise, the Quincy Patriot Ledger, and the Watertown Tab. On April

ADAM SENNOTT July 12, 2016

MASS BAIL REFORM NOW

November 9, 2015 BY JASON PRAMAS @JASONPRAMAS Lots of innocent people are spending time in jail in Massachusetts. And unsurprisingly many of those people are poor and a disproportionate number are people of color. But they are not convicted criminals. They are people who are charged with a crime—often a

JASON PRAMAS November 9, 2015

SWAT INC.

The Commonwealth’s most infamous militarized police force continues to flout records law BY MAYA SHAFFER AND ANDREW QUEMERE “There’s just a receptionist working there, and she’s afraid of them. They have a camera in her face, and they’re kind of yelling at her, and she doesn’t know what to do.” So claimed

BAY STATE EXAMINER November 4, 2015

LICENSE TO CONNIVE

Boston still tracks vehicles, lies about it, and leaves sensitive resident data exposed online Prior to two weeks ago, when this reporter alerted authorities that they had exposed critical data, anyone online was able to freely access a City of Boston automated license plate reader (ALPR) system and to download dozens

KENNETH LIPP September 8, 2015