Police Audit Committee begins RFP draft process

By Mike Berger

The town’s Police Audit Procurement Committee met on May 16 and painstakingly completed the first half of a draft of a Request for Proposals (RFP) that will be used to solicit independent firms to complete a review of all Canton Police Department operations.

This was the second meeting of the committee, which is tentatively scheduled to meet again on June 12 and, if needed, one more time after that in order to complete the RFP and send it out to bid. The procurement committee is chaired by Bob McCarthy and includes David Clough of the Finance and Capital Planning committees; Kathleen Howley, the architect of the police audit proposal at the November 2023 Special Town Meeting; Dr. Daniel Muse, an ER doctor at Brockton Hospital and school physician for the Canton Public Schools; and John Kelly, a retired State Police colonel.

Proposed by a citizens’ petition due to concerns with the investigation into the death of Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, the CPD audit as approved by STM voters calls for a comprehensive and independent review of CPD policies and procedures, including a compliance review, to be conducted in accordance with all conflict of interest and ethics laws.

The committee met for two and a half hours on May 16 and heard comments from some of the 30 residents who attended. At various points, McCarthy allowed comments from the audience to filter into the discussion. At the end of the meeting, resident and petitioner Rita Lombardi said it would be the collaboration of residents and the audit committee that is needed to rebuild trust among government officials and residents. “We are here because of lack of trust, “ Lombardi said. “What is going to help us is collaboration. What is lacking in this town is leadership.”

The main point of contention among committee members during the meeting was how long the auditors should look back into police department records and operations. Committee members ultimately compromised on 10 years, with the exception of the part of the audit dealing with complaints against officers, as well as promotions and demotions, which will extend to 25 years.

McCarthy said he is reluctant to exceed the $200,000 approved by STM voters and he noted that the longer it takes, the higher the cost of the audit. Several audience members, however, said the Select Board would support additional funds through the Finance Committee if needed. McCarthy said that there should be a statement about the financial constraints in the RFP.

“We do not have a blank check,” he said.

Included in the approved portions of the RFP are more scrutiny for crime scene protocols and evidence room procedures, and performance and oversight of the court prosecutor.

Everything remains on the table in the CPD review, including whether or not the auditors should comment on whether Canton should go to an independent hiring process and not use Civil Service, as was suggested by Howley. On the matter of citizen grievances, Kelly said the auditor should not simply look into individual grievances but at the entire process.

The committee also agreed that the auditors should examine whether or not the current citizen complaint process enables all citizens to be treated fairly and equitably.

Everyone on the committee — and many audience members — said that while the department has adequate rules and regulations, the question is how well both officers and the command staff comply with the rules.

Still to be considered as part of the RFP are concerns for police details, internal affairs, oversight of the department, including Select Board review, review of overtime policy, cell phone policy and police officer training standards.

Once the RFP is formally adopted, there is an advertisement process and application process that could take approximately four to six weeks. The committee would then review all applications and schedule interviews with the top firms.

After the audit has been completed, committee members want the audit report to be explained at Annual Town Meeting, followed by a public question-and-answer period.

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