Transparency and accountability are the benchmarks Lynn Police Chief Christopher R. Reddy referenced when he announced on Saturday that five police officers had resigned and one was fired in connection with texts between two of the officers that, according to a police statement, included racially offensive language and evidence of drug use by officers.
The officers have not been named in news reports and there is no indication the six — as well as two other officers suspended in connection with the texts — have made public statements concerning their conduct and disciplinary measures taken against them.
But evidence of racist language and drug use by city police officers should alarm all Lynn residents. They alarmed Mayor Jared Nicholson who said the officers ” . . .fall so far short of what most would consider even a minimum standard.”
We agree with Reddy — a career Lynn police officer — when he stated that “the actions of these individuals do not reflect the core values of this department.” We are also confident that the majority of Lynn police officers and city residents share Reddy’s viewpoint.
More than 18 months have passed since the death of George Floyd, a Black man, at the hands of a white Minneapolis police officer. The national outrage over that murder recalibrated and renewed the debate over racism in America and amplified a call for an examination and transformation in how law enforcement is carried out across the country.
That transformation is reshaping law enforcement in Lynn with city elected officials endorsing unarmed crisis response approaches to local incidents where policing and mental health intersect.
The Lynn Police Department is engaged in the discussion on how unarmed response will be applied at the street level and Reddy, who was named chief last May, and Nicholson, who took office three weeks ago, bring relatively fresh perspectives to the work of moving that discussion and the overall transformation of police work forward.
Reddy is committed to enhancing community policing and narrowing the gap between officers on the street and residents in Lynn’s neighborhoods. That commitment, more than any other, will erase the black mark blotted on the Lynn Police Department’s reputation by the six officers removed from the department’s ranks and two others disciplined in connection with the text exchange.
