Update to LPD Use of Force Policy, Frederick Douglass Special program on Friday, & more | June 30, 2020

Tune in at 3pm every Monday, Wednesday, & Friday on our Government Channel or Facebook page for an update from city officials. Past updates can be found by clicking here. At 2pm & 8pm we are also airing Gov. Baker’s press conferences.

See other COVID-19 related posts by clicking here

Mayor Thomas M. McGee and Lynn Police Chief Michael Mageary announced revisions to the Lynn Police Department’s (LPD) Use of Force Policy to align with the Campaign Zero recommendations.

“The widespread call for police reforms and accountability has resonated in the City of Lynn,” said Mayor Thomas M. McGee. “Over the last several weeks, Chief Mageary and I have met to discuss and review the LPD’s Use of Force Policy which resulted in several changes. This is a positive step in the right direction. Meaningful change will require difficult conversations and thoughtful, concrete action. I look forward to respectfully listening to my fellow Lynners as we have the important discussions that will inform how we progress as a community.”

Upon review of the LPD’s policy, which is in accordance with the Municipal Police Training Committee (MPTC) guidelines, the current rules and procedures already included many of the recommendations from Campaign Zero. The use of force policy’s goal is always to provide guidance to officers to only use the least amount of force which is reasonable and necessary.

“The Lynn Police Department has thoroughly embraced the six pillars of the principles embodied in the final report of the 2015 President Obama Task Force on 21st Century Policing, and remain committed to professional conduct, democratic policing and procedural justice for all people,” said Lynn Police Chief Michael Mageary.

The following revisions have been implemented and formalized in the LPD’s Use of Force policy, which became effective June 18th to include:

• Officer’s duty to intervene: should they observe a situation in which they perceive more than the necessary force being deployed by a fellow officer.
• Requiring officers to give a verbal warning before any level of force: provided they have the opportunity to do so. This was already a standard practice now officially in writing.
• • • Restricting choke holds and strangleholds: The use of choke holds or strangleholds is not included in the training of Lynn Police Officers due to the risk of serious injury or death. The use of chokeholds is strictly prohibited unless the use of deadly force is warranted under MPTC guidelines.
    • • Training officers in de-escalation: already included in recruits’ training and in the MPTC use of force model the department’s use-of-force policy. Going forward, officers will receive additional de-escalation training annually, as required by the MPTC.
      • Requiring officers to use a force continuum: starting with nonlethal or less-lethal strategies, an existing policy.
      • Requiring officers to exhaust all reasonable alternatives before using deadly force: an existing policy based on the MPTC use of force guidelines.
      • Comprehensive reporting of both actual and threatened use of force: All officers are required to complete a use of force report for each instance where any level of force is used.

Special member program: Frederick Douglass Speech this Friday at 6pm

The promo video & description below were sent to us by member Wendy Joseph, who has been working on this project with fellow member Calvin Anderson. This member-produced program is set to premiere on Friday, July 3rd at 6pm on LCTV’s public access channel.

For the landmark 10th year of the Frederick Douglass Community Event, the committee worked with LCTV and City officials to create a video of the Frederick Douglass reading with 44 Lynners filmed in various places around the City,using social distancing in order to keep everyone safe during this time.

It includes retrospective images of years past, with remarks by Coordinator Wendy Joseph, City Council President Darren Cyr, Mayor Thomas M. McGee and a special surprise commentator.

You can watch this member-produced special this Friday at 6PM on TV (Comcast: 3 / Verizon: 38) & online (on our website).

Lynn Library Summer Reading Program set to run from July 6 thru August 28

From the Lynn Public Library’s Children’s Dept. on Facebook: The Summer reading program is beginning soon! Read and listen to stories to win a reward! Print out this reading log or pick up a reading log from the library on July 6 , 11am-2pm. Fill in your reading log and pass it back in by August 31st to collect your prize!

Click the posters above for their full-resolution images

Updates from State Government

• As of Monday night, DPH reported a total of 108,768 cases of COVID-19. The state has now confirmed a total of 8,095 deaths from the virus.
• Governor Baker is waiting to get another week’s worth of data to see what, if any, effect the resumption of indoor dining has on public health metrics associated with the virus before deciding if the third wave of reopenings will begin July 6. Phase 3 of the state’s reopening will see the return of gyms, sporting events, casinos, museums, and movie theaters.
• Calls are growing for Governor Baker to extend a moratorium on non-emergency evictions and foreclosures beyond its scheduled mid-August expiration, with advocates warning that the current economic climate will place many families in housing crises without further action. In a new report from Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers and the City Life / Vida Urbana group, authors cautioned that the Boston area faces an “impending crisis” of evictions.Governor Baker signed a bill on April 20 imposing a 120-day mandatory pause on almost all housing removal procedures, despite urging from landlords that he allow them to issue notices to quit. The new law allows him to extend it in 90-day intervals if the public health crisis continues.
• The House and Senate are poised this week to approve compromise early voting and vote-by-mail legislation that should pave the way for a major expansion of options ahead of the 2020 election to encourage participation during the COVID-19 pandemic. All six lawmakers appointed to find a compromise on the bill (H 4820) signed onto a report Monday.Rep. John Lawn, the lead House negotiator on the bill, said he anticipates a vote of the full House on the final bill Tuesday while the Senate plans to take it up Thursday, according to a spokesperson for the Senate president’s office. The House and Senate versions of the bill instruct the secretary of state’s office to mail every voter an application to request a mail-in ballot for the primaries on Sept. 1 and the general election on Nov. 3.The goal, lawmakers have said, is to continue in-person voting but to allow voters cast their votes early if they wish or to avoid the polls altogether if they feel unsafe due to virus transmission risks. The bill also for the first time in Massachusetts creates an early voting window before the statewide primary, and expands early voting before the general election. The state’s in-person early voting period for the general election runs from Oct. 17-30 and from Aug. 22-28 for the primaries. The mail-in early voting period will begin as soon as local clerks receive all the necessary materials.

From Mayor McGee’s office: The Lynn Public Health Department has confirmed that as of today, the number of active, confirmed positive COVID-19 cases is 694 with 8 new cases today. 2,873 Lynn residents have recovered and 101 have died. The total number of confirmed positive COVID-19 cases in Lynn since March 21, 2020, including those who have died and recovered, is 3,668. Please visit the new City of Lynn COVID-19 Data Dashboard which is updated daily.

Massachusetts residents can submit questions and comments about the state’s Reopening Massachusetts plan at the following link: https://www.mass.gov/forms/submit-questions-and-comments-about-reopening-massachusetts. Please visit the City of Lynn Reopening Guidance webpage for more information at http://www.ci.lynn.ma.us/covid19/reopening.shtml.

We will continue to provide regular updates on COVID-19 through the City website (www.lynnma.gov), social media, and the Smart 911 emergency notification system (sign up at www.smart911.com).