2023 ANNUAL REPORT
GOVERNOR
Maura Healey
LT. GOVERNOR
Kim Driscoll
COMMISSION CHAIR
Margaret R. Hinkle
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Enrique Zuniga
PUBLICATION DATE
May 2024
TABLE OF CONTENTS
MISSION AND GOALS 2
MESSAGE FROM COMMISSION CHAIR 3
POST COMMISSIONERS 4
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 5
PROVISIONS OF POLICE REFORM ACT OF 2020 6
DIVISION REPORTS 8-29
DIVISION OF CERTIFICATION 8-10
DIVISION OF STANDARDS 11-17
LEGAL DIVISION 18-21
FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION 22-24
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 25
COMMUNICATIONS AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT 26-27
ADDITIONAL STATUTORY REPORTS 28-29
MISSION AND GOALS
The Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission was established as part of the criminal justice reform
legislation enacted in Chapter 253 of the Acts of 2020.
Mission Statement
To improve policing and enhance public
confidence in law enforcement by
implementing a fair process for mandatory
certification, discipline, and training for all
peace officers in the Commonwealth.
SPECIFIC GOALS INCLUDE
1.1 Implement a mandatory certification process for 44. Standardize practices throughout the Commonwealth
police officers, including decertification, suspension by implementing a process for certifying agencies
of certification, or reprimand in the event of certain including regulations, model policies and best practices
police misconduct. that address use of force, ensure bias-free policing and
enhance officer wellness.
2.2 Receive, investigate and adjudicate officer misconduct
complaints and improper use of force. 55. Collaborate with the MPTC to standardize and implement
best practices in training and ensure compliance with
3.3 Maintain a public portal (database) of officer information,
annual in-service requirements.
including certification status, suspensions and
disciplinary records. 66. Build an effective and well-regarded diverse agency
that fosters collaboration, professional excellence and
personal growth.
PAGE 2 MASSACHUSETTS POST COMMISSION ANNUAL REPORT 2023
MESSAGE FROM COMMISSION CHAIR
We are pleased to submit the second Annual Report for the POST Commission. This report includes information about the activities of
the Commission during Calendar Year 2023. Some portions of the report focus on Fiscal Year 2023 (July 1, 2022 - June 30, 2023).
Over the past year, POST Commissioners and staff have continued to work diligently to grow our new agency and meet obligations
included in our founding statute (Chapter 253 of the Acts of 2020) while supporting the Commission’s mission of improving policing and
enhancing public confidence in law enforcement. During this time, we have increased our staff from 21 to 37 to meet growing demands.
More specifically, our Division of Police Standards has grown from a team of five to a team of twelve and our Certification Division from
seven to nine. This report details many of the milestones of the past year, including the release of historical disciplinary records and the
recertification of officers whose last names begin with I-P.
Part of these accomplishments can be attributed to the collaboration of our partners. We thank the staff at the MPTC who continuously
work with us to support important initiatives like verifying officer information and developing training and certification standards. For
the Training Year 2024, POST and MPTC collaborated on producing a training module about the Commission and the disciplinary process
that was deployed to all officers as part of the in-service training requirement.
We also thank the 438 Law Enforcement Agencies under our purview for their collaboration and willingness to adapt to new policies.
The directives in the statute that POST is charged with implementing affect approximately 22,000 peace officers in the Commonwealth
in some capacity, most prominently through the officer certification process. The ongoing cooperation of agencies is critical to our
success and our shared goal of enhancing policing in the Commonwealth.
We continue to grow our agency to fulfill our mission and meet the directives under the statute. We strongly believe we will continue to
meet all our obligations in the future. We remain committed to working objectively and fairly toward the goals of police reform,
specifically ensuring accountability, increasing transparency and enhancing trust between law enforcement and the communities they
serve.
Margaret R. Hinkle
Margaret R. Hinkle
Chair, POST Commission
MASSACHUSETTS POST COMMISSION ANNUAL REPORT 2023 PAGE 3
POST COMMISSIONERS
The nine-member Commission is appointed by the Governor, Attorney General, or both. The Commission has three law enforcement
officers and six civilians and is diverse in terms of gender, race, geography, party affiliation, background and nominating entities.
Commissioners have experience in law enforcement practice and training, criminal law, civil rights, the criminal justice system, mental
health, crisis intervention, de-escalation techniques and social science fields related to race or bias.
While serving on the Commission, the Commissioners cannot hold, or be a candidate for elected office, hold an appointed office in
government, or serve as an official in a political party. No more than seven Commissioners shall be from the same political party.
Seven commissioners are required to constitute a quorum for the public meetings of the Commission. Each Commissioner serves for a
term of five years or until a successor is appointed and is eligible for reappointment but cannot serve more than 10 years.
APPOINTEES OF THE GOVERNOR APPOINTEES OF THE JOINT APPOINTEES OF THE
Margaret R. Hinkle served from 1993 ATTORNEY GENERAL GOVERNOR AND ATTORNEY GENERAL
until 2011 as a Justice of the Superior Lawrence Calderone is the Chair and Dr. Hanya H. Bluestone is a licensed
Court of Massachusetts and serves as President of the Massachusetts psychologist who has served since
Chair of the POST Commission. Law Enforcement Policy Group 2016 as CEO of Labyrinth Psychological
and President of the Boston Police Services, P.C. in Holden.
Lester Baker is Chief of the Framingham Patrolmen’s Association.
Police Department, a position he has held Deborah Hall is CEO of the YMCA in
since 2020. Larry Ellison is a Detective in the Boston Central Massachusetts and has over
Police Department’s School Unit, a 35 years of experience working with
Charlene Luma is the Chief of Staff survivors of domestic violence and
position he has held since 2005.
at the Suffolk County District Attorney’s community violence.
Office. Marsha Kazarosian is an experienced
Reverend Clyde Talley is Senior
trial attorney who has been practicing in
Pastor of Belmont A.M.E. Zion Church.
Massachusetts since 1982.
PAGE 4 MASSACHUSETTS POST COMMISSION ANNUAL REPORT 2023
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
During the second full year of operations, the Commission achieved important milestones as required by the statute (Chapter 253
of the Acts of 2020, also referred to as “Police Reform”). The major accomplishments during 2023 can be summarized as follows:
• January: proposed draft regulations 555 CMR 8.00: Databases and Dissemination of Information and 555 CMR 11.00: Regulatory
Action and Advisory Opinions
• February: provided guidance to Law Enforcement Agencies regarding resubmission of historical disciplinary records
• March: proposed draft regulations on Initial Certification of Officers; and Initial or Renewed Certification of Independently
Applying Officers, Including Constables (555 CMR 9.00); and announced a new, streamlined online certification process for
officers with last names I-P using the new Law Enforcement Agency portal
• April: proposed draft regulations 555 CMR 10.00: Specialized Certification for School Resource Officers; and draft guidance to
Law Enforcement Agencies regarding certain aspects of 555 CMR 1.00: Procedural Rules
• May: debuted a new section on our website for publishing Commission Orders, Decisions and Executive Director reviews and
released officer status update reports (for certified, not certified, suspended, decertified, under review and administrative
suspensions)
• June: held two public hearings on proposed regulations 555 CMR 9.00: Initial Certification of Officers; and Initial or Renewed
Certification of Independently Applying Officers, Including Constables and on proposed regulations 555 CMR 11.00: Regulatory
Action and Advisory Opinions
• July: accepted, processed, recertified and notified approximately 5,600 law enforcement officers. The statute grandfathered
the certification of officers whose last name begins with letters between I-P and this certification expired on June 30, 2023
• August: published 3,413 historical disciplinary records of 2,165 active and transferred officers from 273 law enforcement
agencies current as of January 31, 2023
• September: moved into permanent office headquarters at 84 State Street in Boston; issued Guidance to Law Enforcement
Agencies and Prosecuting Offices regarding 555 CMR 1.00 and 6.00; and Guidance for Constables and other Law Enforcement
Personnel regarding 555 CMR 9.00
• October: held the first in-person adjudicatory hearing over a three-day period
• November: began certifying School Resource Officers via a new certification application
• December: introduced draft regulations for maintenance, reporting and audits of law enforcement records and information
Next year will bring additional progress that will build on the work done to date. The Commission will continue to receive
complaints and disciplinary records, certify new academy graduates, recertify officers with last names Q through Z, investigate and
adjudicate disciplinary matters and publish key information regarding law enforcement officers as required by the statute.
MASSACHUSETTS POST COMMISSION ANNUAL REPORT 2023 PAGE 5
PROVISIONS OF THE POLICE REFORM ACT OF 2020
Chapter 253 of the Acts of 2020 (“Police Reform”) established the POST Commission to create a mandatory certification process
for police officers and for certifying law enforcement agencies, along with the following goals:
1. CERTIFY NEW AND EXISTING The statute outlines certain requirements for certification of new officers and recertification of
OFFICERS EVERY THREE YEARS. existing officers. The law initially granted a certification to all active officers and requires new
officers to be certified according to certain criteria. Further, the law requires that all officers be
recertified every three years. To distribute the certification workload, the law outlined the
expiration of said certification according to the last name of individuals. Officers with last
names A-H were the first officers to be recertified by the Commission on July 1, 2022. The next
group of officers (with last names I-P) were recertified by the Commission on July 1, 2023 and
the last group of officers (with last names Q-Z) will be recertified by July 1, 2024. This process
will continue.
2. INVESTIGATE ALLEGATIONS The mission of the POST Commission includes creating a process for suspension of certification
OF MISCONDUCT AND CREATE of a law enforcement officer. Such a process is required to include procedures for hearing and
A PROCESS FOR DISCIPLINE, adjudication. The Commission has the authority to suspend, limit, condition or revoke certifica-
tions or order retraining of officers. A revocation is also known as a “decertification” and the
REPRIMAND OR RETRAINING,
statute outlines the reasons that can result in a revocation, including if an officer engages in
INCLUDING CONDITION, LIMIT certain prohibited conduct. When an officer is decertified, they will be listed in the National
OR REVOCATION OF OFFICER Decertification Index which prevents them from working in law enforcement in the future.
CERTIFICATION IN THE EVENT
OF CERTAIN MISCONDUCT. As part of the investigatory process, the Commission is tasked with receiving complaints from
both the public and law enforcement agencies. Agencies are required to submit credible
complaints to the Commission within two business days. Agencies are also tasked with
submitting reports and disciplinary dispositions to the Commission when those tasks are
completed. When investigating misconduct, the Commission staff evaluates information to
detect patterns, as well as situations that may warrant referral to prosecuting agencies.
The mission of the POST Commission includes the authority to certify law enforcement agencies
3. REGULATE OFFICERS AND
and individuals to ensure that officers are well trained and adhere to high standards and sound
AGENCIES TO STANDARDIZE policies and to prevent and address excessive force and misconduct. The Commission
TRAINING AND BEST PRACTICES endeavors to follow best practices, dictate minimum standards and require model policies for
ACROSS THE STATE. agencies with the overall goal of improving policing in the Commonwealth.
4. MAINTAIN A PUBLICLY To further its mission and the important goal of enhancing public confidence and trust in
policing, the Commission is tasked with maintaining a public-facing database of officer
AVAILABLE DATABASE WITH
information including disciplinary records and complaint history. The statute also requires that
INFORMATION REGARDING
public information include the certification status of every officer in the Commonwealth.
OFFICERS.
MASSACHUSETTS POST COMMISSION ANNUAL REPORT 2023 PAGE 6
DIVISION REPORTS
DIVISION OF CERTIFICATION
The Division of Certification establishes uniform policies Officers with last names A through H June 30, 2022
and standards for the certification of all law enforcement Officers with last names I through P June 30, 2023
officers. In addition, Division staff work in conjunction with
Officers with last names Q through Z June 30, 2024
the MPTC to verify standards related to training.
The Commission requires agencies to help verify certain
All officers in the Commonwealth that fall within the scope requirements of the statute and submit information to renew
of the statute are required to be certified every three the certification of officers prior to the date of expiration.
years. Officers who were active on July 1, 2021 were certified In addition, the statute requires that all new officers attending
automatically by statute. The statute also provided that an academy training and graduating December 1, 2021 be
those initial certifications were to expire as follows: certified by the Commission.
THE CERTIFICATION STANDARDS FOR ALL OFFICERS INCLUDE:
(i) Attaining the age of 21;
(ii) Successful completion of a high school education or equivalent, as determined by the Commission;
(iii) Successful completion of the basic training program approved by the MPTC;
(iv) Successful completion of a physical and psychological fitness evaluation approved by the Commission;
(v) Successful completion of a state and national background check, including, but not limited to, fingerprinting and a full
employment history; provided, that if the applicant has been previously employed in law enforcement in any state or United
States territory or by the federal government, the applicant’s full employment record, including complaints and discipline,
shall be evaluated in the background check;
(vi) Passage of an examination approved by the Commission;
(vii) Possession of current first ai