Mayor Domenic Sarno
36 Court Street
Springfield, MA 01103
Dear Mayor Sarno,
As you are well aware, on February 22, 2022, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled that the Springfield City Council had the power to establish a 5 member Board of Police Commissioners to be responsible for the hiring, firing, discipline, and promotions within the Springfield Police Department.
In that same ruling, Judge Kafker reiterated what I have been telling residents all along, which is that you, according to our City Charter, have unilateral control over who serves as heads of departments and on municipal boards. Hence, you have the sole authority over all of the appointments to the Board of Police Commissioners.
Since the ruling, I have received numerous phone calls from residents who are interested in serving on the Police Commission, which is exciting news and means that people are genuinely concerned about the state of our Police Department. They are optimistic about the potential of getting involved and affecting systemic change in their city.
I am of the opinion that we should capitalize on this energy and create a transparent process for individuals interested in serving on the Police Commission to demonstrate that they possess the commitment, ability, and courage to transform a police department that has been marred with controversy for years. Creating such a process will go a long way towards restoring faith and trust in our Police Department and even more importantly, the administration that oversees it.
The Board of Police Commissioners has significant responsibilities and we all need to do our best to ensure that those individuals who serve understand their role and the impact that over-policing and poor policing has had on communities of color in the City of Springfield.
An open and transparent process to select commissioners, at the very least, gives the appearance to the general public that your intent is not to create a sham police commission that is only beholden to you and not the community that they should be serving. To that end, it would go a long way toward community buy-in if you reached out to the many organizations, the NAACP, Pioneer Valley Project, and Mass Senior Action Council to name a few, that have been calling for a Police Commission for years to seek their input and potential recommendations as you endeavor to make your selections.
Thank you in advance for your consideration and if I can assist in any way, please feel free to reach out.
Sincerely,
City Councilor Justin Hurst
