Massachusetts Attorney General supports POST Commission appointment after Boston Police demotion – NBC Boston

Attorney General Andrea Campbell disagreed with the mayor and Boston police on Wednesday over the demoting of her nominee from the command staff to the commission that sets law enforcement standards after he was appointed to the state Senate.

Eddy Chrispin, Campbell’s youngest member of the Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission, was a member of the Boston Police Department’s command staff until his position change. The POST commission was created as part of a criminal justice reform bill in 2020 following the killing of George Floyd and implements accountability measures and certifications for police officers across Massachusetts.

Chrispin was nominated by the Massachusetts Association of Minority Law Enforcement Officers and selected for the commission by Campbell.

“His application was amazing,” Campbell said Wednesday on GBH’s Boston Public Radio show. “I know him through my work on the City Council and his work in the community. But the number of letters of support and endorsements – it was incredible. Including support from people who served in the BPD.”

POST Executive Director Enrique Zuniga said in a statement Monday that he was “deeply disappointed” that Chrispin was demoted from BPD deputy superintendent to sergeant detective due to his appointment as a member of the statewide commission.

“For this reason, we call on BPD to reverse its decision and immediately reinstate Commissioner Chrispin to his previous rank. We see no legitimate reason why Commissioner Chrispin’s appointment to the POST Commission should result in his demotion,” the statement said.

Zuniga continued, “We have learned that the BPD demoted Commissioner Chrispin because he allegedly has conflict of interest concerns due to his position on the command staff. Like any other state agency, the POST Commission has procedures in place to deal with conflicts of interest that may arise. Commissioners regularly disclose a specific matter that presents a conflict of interest or recuse themselves from the matter. In addition, current and former commissioners have held positions on the command staff of an agency, such as the position of chief of police, while simultaneously serving as commissioners.”

When Mayor Michelle Wu appeared on the GBH radio show on Tuesday, co-hosts Jim Braude and Margery Eagan asked the mayor about this issue.

Wu defended BPD Commissioner Michael Cox’s right to select his command staff, adding that she was not involved in the one-on-one discussions about Chrispin’s role.

“The Commissioner believes it is in the best interest of the Department and POST to function well and both do their jobs – POST as the regulatory agency that regulates Boston and police departments across the state, and the command staff as the internal decision-making and oversight body focused only on the City of Boston. It would be in the Commissioner’s best interest to leave these independent as he seeks to select and assemble his command staff,” Wu said.

A Boston deputy police chief was demoted after joining the POST Commission, Massachusetts’ police oversight board, as Mayor Michelle Wu and the Boston Police Department made controversial comments on the issue Tuesday.

Campbell told Boston Public Radio on Wednesday that she had not heard a compelling reason for Chrispin’s demotion, adding that it was actually a positive thing to have active members in key positions on the board.

“If anything, it – the POST Act and any policy practice – encourages people to actively engage in law enforcement and also to take a meaningful role in POST because they bring a perspective. And I was confident, as was my team, that he would not have violated any secrets of Commissioner Cox or anyone else in that capacity,” the attorney general said.

Campbell said she had communicated her concerns to the city of Boston and argued that Cox needed to “make the reasons and justifications crystal clear.”

“And you haven’t heard such a reason yet?” asked Braude.

“No,” Campbell answered quickly.

The Boston Globe reported that Chrispin was given the choice of either remaining on Cox’s executive staff and resigning from the state board or keeping his position on the POST Commission. He chose to remain on the state board, which cost him a roughly $40,000 pay cut.