PAX Centurion - November / December 2014

www.bppa.org PAX CENTURION • November/December 2014 • Page 19 HEARD ON THE HILL By James Barry, BPPA Legislative Agent Seaport jurisdiction issue continues… T he insanity separate and exclusive jurisdictional issue in the Seaport area continues with the Massachusetts State Police patrol- ling and answering residential 911 calls in a four block area of the Seaport. Massport does not want anything to change, as they hold more control over the MSP. The Massachusetts State Police answering 911 calls from City of Boston residents? This is just not their job. It is the job of the Boston Police Department. Exclusive jurisdiction? Neither Massport, nor the MSP can explain to the public or the legislature the logic of not allowing the primary police (BPD) juris- diction to serve the public within their own borders. Nowhere else in the country does this situation exist. Massport and the MPS have exclusive jurisdiction inside Boston’s borders. The City of Boston has approved and are now directing the development of the rest of the Seaport area. This development will have 12-15 blocks of residential, retail, hotels and office buildings all surrounding Massport’s four block area. Boston Police as it stands right now, will be driving through four blocks of their own city in which they have no jurisdiction. In the rest of the Seaport, BPD will be the primary policing department, not the MSP. Just Massport's four blocks of residential property that is serviced by Boston EMS, Boston Fire, Boston School Department, Elderly Services, Elections Commission, Liquor Commission, Entertainment Licensing, Food Inspections and subject to all City of Boston laws and ordinances. Here, Boston residents can avail themselves to an array of these city services, except the Boston Police. Another example of this duplication of services and expanding presence in Boston is in Boston Harbor. The Boston Police are the primary (not exclusive) police jurisdiction in Boston Harbor. The Commander of the Boston Police Harbor Unit is the Harbormaster for Boston Harbor. The Massachusetts State Police Harbor Unit (30 plus boats) is concentrated in Boston Harbor. They are not assigned or found in any other harbor or river in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. No MSP harbor or marine units in Gloucester, Rockport, Salem, Marble- head, Fall River, Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, Plymouth, Hyannis, Provincetown, Cape Cod Canal, Woods Hole or Connecticut River or anywhere else for that matter. I n Massachusetts, the crime of resisting arrest is a misdemeanor which means that the maximum penalty that a defendant can be sentenced to is a house of correction sentence, as opposed to a state prison sentence. If you are convicted of resisting arrest in Mas- sachusetts the maximum penalty you will face is 2½ years in jail or a fine of up to $500.00. Back in 1998, if a suspect resisted an officer’s attempts to place him or her under arrest the only charge the officer had was A&B P.O. In Massachusetts, there was no crime for resisting arrest. Defense attorneys would routinely charge the officer with a cross com- plaint of A&B and it would be a wash. I recognized this crime was routinely bargained away and largely unpunished. Our job as police officers puts us into many unsafe situations. Suspects that resist and assault an officer while effecting a lawful arrest, should have the law on their side. I began researching at the federal courthouse the ten most similar states for their statutes on resisting arrest. I found that only one (besides Massachusetts) out of the ten had no statute for resisting arrest on the books. All the other nine northern industrial states with similar populations and businesses had a statute on the books for resisting arrest. Armed with this information, I filed this legislation and saw it passed. Although I had to settle for a misdemeanor as penalty, it was nowMass. General Law. I am filing legislation to increase the penalties for this charge along withA&B P.O. I have enjoyed many legislative victories over the years. However, the resisting arrest statute was one of my proudest moments as BPPA LegislativeAgent. MGL C 268 s32B is utilized everyday and hopefully makes our job a little safer, not only by BPPA members, but police officers around the Commonwealth. Increasing the penalties for resisting arrest & A&B P.O.