Newton Police Reform Task Force To Hold Community Input Session

NEWTON, MA — The mayor's Newton Police Reform Task Force is holding an open meeting Wednesday night specifically to hear about impactful community experiences with and thoughts about the Newton Police Department.

The meeting is part of the the task force's ongoing efforts to rethink the city's police department and funding. The push in Newton comes amid a national civil rights movement following the May 25 death of George Floyd while he was handcuffed by Minneapolis police. The task force was created in July, and has since met weekly online.

"Throughout our engagement we have learned about some common themes and concerns which mostly point to a community desire for police to help enforce quality of life matters," the group said in an August update to the mayor. "Among the most common values that emerged around safety were mutual support, community trust, respect, unity, inclusion, compassion, and empathy. "

The task force is led by Sonja Spears, an attorney and former elected judge in the First City Court of New Orleans, chief equity and inclusion officer at the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program and former civil rights investigator for the MBTA, to chair the task force. The group is set to make recommendations to the mayor in February.

As it prepares to make those, the group has been learning about how the police department functions.

One thing the group noted in its August update was that there is only one Black police officer in Newton.

"The task force believes this is critical issue and would like to explore potential barriers connected to Civil Service residency requirements and Newton Police recruitment and retention efforts among women and minorities," they wrote.

The task force is asking anyone who wants to share stories where they have had significant personal experiences with the Newton police, good or bad, to join the meeting Wednesday. Each person will have 3 minutes to share what that significant personal interaction with a members of the Newton Police Department was like, and then share what the Newton Police Reform Task Force should be considering as they prepare their recommendations for the mayor.

The Community Open Session will be at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday on Zoom. Find details on how to join the meeting here. It will also be live-streamed on NewTV.

Residents can also make comments, ask questions and raise issues through the Task Force’s email: NPRTaskForce@newtonma.gov. The Task Force also has an anonymous input form HERE.

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Jenna Fisher is a news reporter for Patch. Got a tip? She can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna). Have a something you'd like posted on the Patch? Here's how .