LYNN — Lynn residents overwhelmingly voiced their support for local police reforms during Saturday’s special City Council meeting, which was held in response to a petition submitted by six community groups earlier this year.
Ahead of the meeting, on Oct. 13, the council urged Mayor Thomas M. McGee to consider several new policies and programs that would reform policing in the city.
The council order recommended that McGee review the “advisability, feasibility, and utility” of requiring Lynn Police officers to wear body cameras, of establishing an unarmed civilian response team that would respond to non-emergency situations, and of instituting a civilian review board to review police procedures.
“The hearing went very well,” said Ward 6 City Councilor Fred Hogan. “We (were able to hear) about many different experiences from many residents.”
During the three-hour-long public comment session hosted over Zoom, dozens of community members — primarily residents of color — detailed their own experiences with police in a series of impassioned personal testimonies.
The majority of them spoke to the fear that marginalized communities often feel when approached by members of law enforcement, and demanded a call to action to make policing in Lynn safer for all.
“As a mother in this city, I am concerned for our Black and brown children,” said Ward 3 resident Nicole McClain, who advocated for officer use of body cameras while on duty.
McClain described a particularly traumatizing experience that her own son, now 21, had at the age of 16 when he was subjected to what she called “police brutality” at the hands of Lynn officers while out walking with a group of friends.
McClain said her and her husband’s efforts to find answers proved futile as none of the officers involved would agree to speak with them, and called attempts to speak with supervisors a “waste of time.”
“Officers are protected. Even the bad apples are defended when they abuse the power of their badge,” she said. “The police have unions and lawyers making sure their rights are protected. Who was there to make sure my son’s rights … were not violated? Who protects the community when the police fail the community?”
Held in the midst of ongoing racial justice conversations among city councilors and six community activist groups — Diverse People United, Essex County Community Organization, Lynn United for Change, New Lynn Coalition, North Shore Juneteenth Association, and Prevent the Cycle — the hearing was the result of lobbying from those groups, who requested the reallocation of police department funds during a city council budget meeting in July.
That same month, the groups motioned to reactivate Lynn’s Human Rights Commission — which was first established in 2012 — and grant the commission subpoena power and oversight of the Lynn Police, as well as allow it to oversee and approve mandatory Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity (DEI) training for all city employees.
“They feel there’s an issue there, that they need more transparency with city government and the police department,” said Council President Darren Cyr. “If that’s the case, then we need to work on doing that.”
In addition, the groups demanded review of policies and the implementation of procedures that included but were not limited to: outlawing the chokehold, instituting mandatory medical aid for detainees, incorporating a Duty to Intervene policy, instituting a revised and clear Limited Use of Force policy, providing body cameras for Lynn officers, and a move towards policing alternatives.
Earlier this month, McGee said he had already begun to talk with local advocates, public safety officials, and the city council about achieving the goals outlined in the citizens petition.
Now, city council members say the next steps are mostly in McGee’s hands.
“I will continue to work with all organizations involved so we can (bring) racial justice to Lynn,” Councilor Hogan said. “Lynn is an amazing city, and I believe we can make positive changes for all.”
