PAX Centurion - April / June 2016

www.bppa.org PAX CENTURION • April-May-June 2016 • Page 11 causing greater turmoil for those that struggle. Whoever got a break from a police officer right? The reality is officers use their discretion a hell of a lot more than they use their force or firearms. I for one would not blame an officer for eliminating discretion from his playbook if everything we did could be second guessed on video five years later. Maybe it will be better just to be that asshole cop who gives everyone a ticket, arrests every person he has the authority to. I’m not sure what would happen to the Criminal Court System or Motor Vehicle Appeals. I’d assume there would be some congestion. There is one positive thing that could come out of a BWC program. IAD complaints will go down, way down. So will frivolous civil lawsuits against our members. The opportunity for people to just make things up, to tarnish officers’ reputations with allegations that have zero merit will be easily disproved. If society wants real transparency in community-police relationships there should be a requirement of those filing complaints to sign under the pains and penalties of perjury. Seems fair to me… If I call you a derogatory name, if I am unprofessional or I violate your rights I should be punished but if you lie about me calling you a derogatory name or lie about my actions then you should be punished. This would prevent those that would want to leverage an officer to get out of a ticket or get their case CWOF’d from filing erroneous complaints. This would further clog our court system, possibly requiring a “perjury court”. As a citizen I would wonder where it will stop?Will our City Councilors have to wear them while they are working in their official capacities to ensure everything is above board? I think political corruption is as rare as excessive force in this community. Will the silent majority demand this of them though? How about teachers? Should we monitor them and their students to see if Miss Jones is being fair and Little Johnny is applying himself to his studies?What about all public sector employees? Should we have them wear BWCs at their desks and in their trucks to ensure we are getting a full day out of them?… tough to play Bubble Burst, Shop onAmazon or google a steak tip recipe if the camera is looking at your computer screen. I know all this sounds a little ridiculous but where will it go? Where will it end? I’m not sure how body cameras will affect policing and ultimately society. I don’t think it will make policing any more difficult. We, the law enforcement community, have accepted for a long time now that whatever our actions are they are recorded. We know everyone has a camera trying to get the next Zapruder Film. If it happens, our members wearing BWCs, it’ll be interesting to see the truth on video. Maybe some of those folks in the silent majority will speak up when they see what we deal with. Maybe they won’t. I have heard it said “if you are looking sympathy up in the dictionary it is between sh*t and syphilis” but I bet the reality of BWC’s will surprise most and not the way some think. People should remember it is not us the camera is recording… it is them. From Secretary on page 7 Thoughts onbody cameras… Attention To all members of the Boston Police Relief Association – Active Duty or Retired If you need to change your beneficiary or you are not sure of who your beneficiary is you can contact the relief office at 617-364-9565. If you leave a message your call will be returned and if necessary the paperwork will be sent out to you. Thank you. William F. Carroll, Clerk, Boston Police Relief Association to be recognized for you bravery. On Sunday, June 12 th , our country suffered another, the worst yet, mass shooting in Orlando. My continued thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families as well as the first responders that witnessed the unspeakable, tragic event. My feeling is those officers and EMTs will never be the same again, much like our officers who were on the front lines in 2013 were forever changed. My hope is that they will utilize the the resources available to them to help them cope. Oddly enough, that very same Sunday, there was a terrorism training event at Fenway Park. We need this type of training in order to prepare for the worst possible scenarios. We need to push for more of it. We need to push for the equipment we need to better protect the public and ourselves. Ballistic shields, ballistic helmets, rifles, you name it. These issues have been brought up by us for some time now, and Orlando only reinforces our position. I think we can all agree we would rather be over prepared and over equipped and never have to utilize the training and equipment, than to be under prepared and ill equipped. It is that simple. Please, be vigilant out there. Enjoy the summer. From Vice President on page 5 Notes and thoughts fromall over… To the men and women of the BPD and BEMS, It was, and is, a great pleasure to raise awareness, on your behalf, of the annual scholarship by securing advertisers to offer their services to you, the members of the BPPA, in 2016 and beyond. It is most important to keep in mind that many of these advertisers are happy to support our cause just because they are appreciative of your efforts, but many, while appreciative, need to drive additional sales as well. Please try to keep this in mind as you shop for groceries, fill prescriptions, buy cars, dine in restaurants or when you might be in need of any services you see advertised within the pages of this, or past and future issues of the Pax. Also, as always, as you go about your daily routines, if you see or hear of a potential candidate for advertising, I can be reached at 617-989-2772 (office) or my cell 617- 529-9288. Thank you in advance and thank you for the opportunity to represent you in this endeavor. Sincerely, Mike Joyce Advertisers in this issue of the Pax Centurion : Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Boston Firefighters Credit Union Brookmeadow Country Club Burke Distributors Byrne & Anderson, LLP, Attorneys at Law City of Boston Credit Union Eire Pub Law Firm of Scott D. Goldberg, P.C. William J. Gormley Funeral Home Law Offices of Donald E. Green Guaranteed Rate Mortgage J.J. Irish Pub & Grill Neponset Preschool New York Life - Kevin J. Pishkin