Another example of no oversight at the State Police
Shortly after 2 a.m. on July 4, 2015, a Mercury Mountaineer
collided head-on with a Chicopee police cruiser near City Hall, killing
the driver and injuring a police officer.
Chicopee police said it appeared the SUV had crossed into the officer’s lane, but officers called in State Police specialists to conduct an independent investigation.
Three and a half years later, that investigation is still unfinished, and what caused the crash that killed Richard Chapin, a 37-year-old father of three, remains a mystery. The State Police unit that investigates serious car crashes hasn’t provided any information about the crash to Chapin’s family or local authorities.
Chapin’s widow, Susie, said she feels her husband has been forgotten by the authorities, as if his life didn’t matter.
“It kind of makes you wonder, was it not his fault and that’s the
reason they’re not doing the report?” Chapin said. “They left this one
behind. And I believe they left this one behind because it was an
officer-involved.”Chicopee police said it appeared the SUV had crossed into the officer’s lane, but officers called in State Police specialists to conduct an independent investigation.
Three and a half years later, that investigation is still unfinished, and what caused the crash that killed Richard Chapin, a 37-year-old father of three, remains a mystery. The State Police unit that investigates serious car crashes hasn’t provided any information about the crash to Chapin’s family or local authorities.
Chapin’s widow, Susie, said she feels her husband has been forgotten by the authorities, as if his life didn’t matter.
Yet extended delays in crash investigations over the past five years are strikingly routine, a Globe review of State Police records has found.
State troopers assigned to the reconstruction unit took an average of about 10 months to complete each of more than 1,900 investigations initiated from January 2014 to Jan. 23, 2019, records show. An additional 321 investigations — most involving fatalities — remain incomplete, with more than a third open for more than a year. More than 40 of those cases have been pending for more than two years.
By contrast, reconstruction units in a number of other states — Rhode Island, Vermont, Maine, Virginia, and Michigan — reported a much quicker pace to resolve cases, ranging from an average of one to three months.
posted by Jim Pillsbury @ 10:04 AM
12 Comments
12 Comments:
Did any charges ever get filed in that Framingham incident you mention or are they still “pending”?
Curios. What was the state police response to tHis?b another excuse that they are understaffed?
Is there any way to look at the time it takes in an officer involved accident compared to an accident with no officer involvement? I think that widow raises a valid point
Don,t cops always say the first 48 hours are the most important and after .that things become much tougher.? So what happens after thousands of hours go by? What is the reason for these delays?
Jim you have talked about backlogs at the ME’s office here before. I have read about backlogs of entering DNA into databases. Now delays in accident investigations. Is this issue unique to MA or is this now the norm? We worry about criminals entering the US illegally but we seem to be failing miserably at catching the criminals right here in front of us. What is going on and how do we as citizens address these issues?
Story after story after story of issues with the state police. No stories about overhauling the manegement that allows these behaviors to be acceptable. When are we going to be mad enough to demand accountability?
Welcome to MA. The corrupt center of the US
Seems the state police have a new issue every day. Maybe time to do away with them? Jim, thoughts?
The last answer I got from FPD was that the driver was going to be charged... with what s the question. I have to presume, in light of this Globe piece, that we may never see any charges against the cop that was driving on the way to the riot.
The widow makes a great point in the article about officers involved with car accidents and being investigated by the State Police... who we all know... cover their fellow officers asses no matter what.
I'll send a note to Maria and ask if she thinks there's anything we the people can do about any of this. I'll post her response.
Look for a Globe spotlight team report on the backlog of DNA samples ready to be tested.
In public safety alone, thousands of drunk driving convictions will be challenged in court, thousands of drug convictions being overturned, Overtime scandal, theft and fraud at State police and the unions, thousands of open warrants are some of the reasons why our elected leaders should overhaul the entire system, including the leadership.
We can't get rid of them.. the State Cops that is. They are a necessary evil that was supposed to patrol State Highways and have morphed into their own paramilitary force, equipment with the latest technology and weapons.
a little history from Wiki
The MSP was established by Governor John A. Andrew when he signed a law creating the State Constabulary on May 16, 1865. This legislative act to "establish a State Police Force," founded the first statewide enforcement agency in the nation. The first leader of the State Police was a General King. His title was probably earned during the American Civil War.[8] The agency remained small and rather informal until 1921, when the MSP was enlarged to comprise 50 officers stationed in barracks across the state with the primary mission of providing law enforcement to rural areas underserved by existing local police agencies. This law enforcement mission was performed by the trooper on horseback, usually, and in motor cars in areas with upgraded roads. The MSP enlarged its mission to handle primary vehicular regulation on the Commonwealth's interstate and limited-access highways after their development mid-century; during this period, it also established a presence in protecting Logan International Airport.
For much of the twentieth century, the MSP was organized along militaristic lines with a heavy emphasis on the role of the barracks, spartan working conditions, and a uniformity in appearance and internal culture. Until recently, the MSP maintained one of the strictest regimens for physical size requirements for applicants. Efforts are being made presently to render the department more racially diverse, as well as more inclusive of women and LGBT officers.
Time to re-evaluate the need for a group that seems to have more problems than success and more corruption than honesty. Cops should be setting the example of law abiding citizenship not be the poster children for white collar crime
They were created in a different time to protect rural areas. They no longer are needed for anything except patrolling state highways. Get rid of them and start a new group with definitive regulations and stron and honest leaders
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