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19 BPD officers, 3 civilian employees test positive for coronavirus


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and I know it isn't the point right now

but cops ARE civilians and we'd all be better off if they remembered that.

Law enforcement is not a branch of the military and their army cosplay has done immeasurable harm already, let's be careful not to normalize it any further.

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Yes, we are all civilians who don't serve in the military.

But not everybody who works for the police department is a police officer. There are a lot of people who don't have guns, don't wear uniforms and can't arrest anybody: Secretaries, clerks on the first floor of BPD headquarters (where you go to get a copy of a police report, file accident reports, sometimes people who deal with the media, etc.). What would you call those people?

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Why not call them officers and non-officers?

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Who are also civilians.

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"officers and other employees"

"police officers and other department employees"

"officers and staff" (like colleges often refer to "faculty and staff" where it's implicit the "staff" are non-faculty).

I've heard police referred to as "sworn officers" referring to the oath they take to allegedly uphold the law and Constitution. Presumably these others employees are also not sworn in as such.

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The proper parlance is sworn personnel for police officers who swore the oath of office and non-sworn personnel for those who work there but are not police officers. Since the commonwealth has long prefered military veterans in Civil Servce exams and many veterans join the police force, the nomenclature of the military sometimes carries over. I think it's more habit than militarism.

As for crime and calls for service, down at least 75% from what I'm told. Suicides and family disturbance calls about the same as always but more noticeable now with fewer other calls to drown them out. Accidents way down, in fact most towing/body shops struggling. As I noted when this began, officers have been told that shy of murder, try to avoid interacting with the public at all costs.

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This is the PERFECT time for that. You want to complain about doctors and nurses next?

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How about we hope they get better quickly.
So they can get back to protecting the public which is how they got the disease in the 1st place most likely.

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For those who are not yet infected, there needs to be some consideration of how officers operate in confined areas (squad cars, barracks, lockups, etc.) and when in close contact with the public. I'm hoping that they get N95 masks, too ...

This is also why the RI governor was being a complete idiot in demanding house to house searches for New Yorkers - yeah, expose officers to large numbers of residents and expose residents to officers. Then have officers physically take supposedly highly exposed people into custody?

Sounds great for everyone.

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there needs to be some consideration of how officers operate in confined areas (squad cars, barracks, lockups, etc.) and when in close contact with the public...

There is.

At least for state agencies, essential-to-report workers are being issued directives - preferred policy to not share vehicles, backup list on procedures to follow if they must share a vehicle or work in close proximity with someone. I expect local governments and agencies are using the same or something similar.

Whether they are entirely useful procedures is, of course, an entirely separate question. I don't know if they're getting N95 masks or something more basic, but it wouldn't surprise me if they're expected to reuse them.

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Nobody is being arrested in Rhode Island because of this. They're being asked to self-quarantine for 14 days, just like the highway signs say in Massachusetts.

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Raidumbo was originally talking about sending cops door to door searching for New Yorkers.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-27/rhode-island-police-t...

House to house searches and corralling and interrogating people at rest stops - Sounds like a splendid way to spread a plague. Even with no arrests, its an extremely stupid idea.

She backed off when she got blowback from LEOs and the state of NY.

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You never know when some hack is going to get into a brawl on Savin Hill right?

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And have you noticed how this term has grown to describing people who are not-firemen and not-EMTs too? I've even now seen it used in all the recent COVID articles to mean people who are not medical professionals in general.

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Do you have an issue with people who use the title Dr. because they have a PhD though are not medical doctors as well? Honestly... such a trivial complaint to have during a global pandemic when so many are suffering.

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And still they work.

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They have been for years compensated in their contract with "hazardous duty pay" now they are finally earning.

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If you're referring to those who have tested positive, they should not be working. If they are, they are endangering their comrades and the public.

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I was referring to the Officers and Staff not in the hospital or self quarantining.

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Since the subject of the thread is infected police staff, not uninfected ones.

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Oh man - getting petty in here

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when your chosen job is inherently dangerous you don't get brownie points when dangerous situations arise.

the "we run towards danger" mentality is super thirsty and pathetic. maybe people would be more appreciative if 90% of LEO actions was not revenue generation or selectively enforcing laws disproportionately against the poor and minorities, while letting the rich and white skate.

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90%???? Stats, please ?

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The police are not essential workers. They should go home.

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Keep writing comments like this. You’re doing great. Everyone completely agrees with you. We all think your comments are completely reasonable and well thought out. You seem like a completely logical person and comments like this just help solidify what we all think about you: totally normal and rational person and not at all an online troll.

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There continues to be gunplay in the city every night. Takes me back to the few days after the Marathon when violence in the city soared. Yes, there are two Bostons and yes, officers are needed to keep both of them safe.

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That's in Albuquerque. Anything in Boston?

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Look, tired one, this is Uhub. Granted, it's a hotbed of lefty confusion and Trump Derangement Syndrome, but AG's reporting on crime, especially ones that involve gunfire, detail a city that doesn't appear on the evening news.

There's a shitload of ways to easily get yourself killed in Boston, but fucking with the cops isn't one of them.

There are a bunch of stories here where the posters basically agree that a police shooting would have been justified, but didn't happen because the BPD is one of the most professional and restrained forces in the country.

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If you watched the video the "hero" shot wildly with one hand while somersaulting out the way. Maybe not intentional, but certainly incompetent. Don't forget that local popo also shot Dick Donahue. And just because BPD doesn't shoot many people doesn't mean they are restrained. Remember that time Ed Barrett bounced a dude's head off the sidewalk because his car got touched?

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In Boston, that's the exceptional case. Most other places, somebody NOT getting shot is the exception when the police pull their weapons.

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"Gunplay" (sounds like a fetish) does happen sporadically and it may fire your imagination to think about it, but domestic violence is an extreme issue in quarantine and stay at home orders.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/mar/28/lockdowns-world-rise-dom...

Google "domestic violence quarantine" for loads of specific reports in this country and others. Child abuse is also climbing for similar reasons - people with poor impulse control and violent tendencies caught up 24/7 with their victims.

I'd love to see a link about that "increase in crime after the marathon" ... sounds related to April Vacation.

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Not to at all discount your post in any way, but just anecdotally it seems like there haven't been many (any?) murders lately in Boston.

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That is 11 for the year which is one more than we had by this date last year.

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This article touches on the increase in violence as well as the two cities idea. I don't often agree with Crawford or Wall but they were correct here. Police, specifically the Drug and gang units were pulled from Dorchester, Roxbury and Mattapan and the violence exploded. While most of the city was being Boston Strong. A certain portion of the city used it as an opportunity to exact revenge on gang rivals.

https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/07/us/a-spotlight-on-boston-brings-isola...

There were 24 people shot in Boston between April 15 - April 30. That number is extremely high and you would probably have to go back to the 90's to find a similar number.

As for the recent shootings most have been covered by Adam:
3/25 - 293 Huntington Ave
3/28 - 64 Westville 2 arrested -

About 15 calls for shots fired over the weekend and firearm arrest of multiple people. While its not Chicago, its also not sheltering in place.

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Do you mean the racist one and the not racist one? I bet I know which one you're in.

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gunplay?

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I haven't read the MA order, but in NH, police and myriad other government employees were explicitly exempted in each increasingly draconian order. Government always puts itself above the restrictions it imposes on everyone else. Nothing new here.

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when will we see police officers take the 6' radius seriously when working detail work for (essential?!) gas, elec, or roadway work? Because in Boston, Cambridge, and Brookline I continue to see them standing awfully close to the working men and women repairing the infrastructure.

Just askin'...

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Most of the detail work is canceled but sometimes it’s for the safety of the people doing work. Depending on the scenario police can’t stand far away.

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From Merriam Webster:
civilian noun
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ci·​vil·​ian | \ sə-ˈvil-yən also -ˈvi-yən \
Definition of civilian (Entry 1 of 2)
1 : a specialist in Roman or modern civil law
2a : one not on active duty in the armed services or not on a police or firefighting force
b : OUTSIDER sense 1

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