Citizens' Review Board Survives Police Challenge

The Cambridge Police Department mounted an intense lobbying campaign against the city's newly created police review board at the Cambridge City Council meeting last night, but an effort to eliminate the new panel was fended off by the same 5-4 majority that voted it in last week.

At least a dozen police officers watched as Chief Anthony G. Paolillo and representatives of various patrolmen's groups explained why they were "unalterably opposed" to a citizens' review panel.

"We believe that the creation of civilian review boards for police will create a disastrous impact on police officers' morale," Paolillo told city officials.

Fehoing the sentiments of other officers present, Paolillo added that anyone arrested in the city could lodge a retaliatory complaint against a patrolman through the review board.

"There is no doubt that the threat of being called before a review board has intimidated many police officers and in effect, discouraged them from the full performance of their duty," the chief of police argued.

But City Councilor Francis H. Duehay '55 responded angrily to the officers' suggestions that the force is not supported by city officials, saying, "It this board is meddlesome and doesn't improve the department then I will be the first to vote it out."

"We want to give the citizens a chance to hold the police accountable in those narrow cases where the system doesn't work," said Councilor Alice K. Wolf.

The city council spent several hours checking the ordinance for compliance with Massachusetts state and civil service laws before reaffirming last week's resolution.

The vote marks the end of nine months of negotiations to enact Cambridge's first police review board although some groups have vowed to challenge the ordinance either through the courts or a citywide referendum in-next November's election.