PRESS RELEASE
I Stand in Solidarity with our Seniors and will join them in calling for the immediate removal or resignation of Police Commissioner Cheryl Clapprood on the steps of City Hall on June 9th at 11:00 AM.
I Stand in Solidarity with our Seniors and will join them in calling for the immediate removal or resignation of Police Commissioner Cheryl Clapprood on the steps of City Hall on June 9th at 11:00 AM and I encourage other organizations, clergy, activists, elected officials and community leaders who have a stake in the future of Springfield to join us.
I was present at the virtual meeting held by the Massachusetts Senior Action Committee (MSAC) of greater Springfield on April 29th with Commissioner Cheryl Clapprood to discuss police reform and listen to a myriad of recommendations from our seniors who have a wealth of lived experiences that we all can learn from. Unfortunately, much of what our seniors had to say fell on deaf ears. Not only was the Commissioner not receptive, but her responses to questions around racism, systemic racism, implicit bias, and privilege were insensitive, out of touch and quite frankly dangerous to the community she serves. What disturbed me most however, was not that the Commissioner harbored these views, but that she felt comfortable enough to espouse them publicly and then had the audacity to ‘double down’ by putting them in writing in a letter to the (MSAC), which I have attached. We all should be appalled by the letter from Commissioner Clapprood as it speaks to the larger issues in leadership that we have in this city.
Finally, this letter has the potential to divide our police department internally and is a smack in the face to the many police officers of color who have been passed over for promotions, disciplined unfairly, or even fired by the very systems that the Commissioner claims do not exist in ‘her’ police department. I am hopeful that the same police officers who I have spoken to personally as well as those who have written to me anonymously will find the courage to speak out so that we can address the inequities of these systems together.
This call to action is not new. Other concerned citizens and organizations have also called for Commissioner Clapprood’s resignation in the past. However, when an organization that represents a population of people who are least likely to experience a negative interaction with our police department are speaking up, this is significant. It should signal to everyone that a change is necessary and the time is now!
