Judge throws out 2 questions on cop licensing questionnaire
The new state licensing commission for police officers for now can’t ask cops its planned questions about whether they’ve posted anything “that you believe could be perceived as biased” or if they’ve belonged to any organization that has “unlawfully discriminated” against anyone based on race, gender or other factors, a judge has ruled while allowing the rest of the questionnaire.
Suffolk Superior Court Judge Jackie Cowin issued the preliminary injunction against those two of the eight questions, writing that they will be “stricken from the questionnaire” that many officers are supposed to fill out by this summer under the certification law.
“Officers who have not yet responded to the questionnaire because they were granted extensions to do so need not answer Question Nos. 6 and 7,” Cowin wrote in conclusion in a copy of the Monday decision obtained by the Herald.
She added: “For officers who have already turned in the questionnaire and answered Question Nos. 6 and 7 in their current form, the answers may not be used, directly or indirectly, as a basis for denial of recertification.”
The Peace Officer Standards and Training, or POST, Commission, written into law in 2020, has been seeking to have officers fill out this questionnaire to determine if they have “good moral character” as part of its licensing process.
Cowin did continue, “Nothing in this decision is meant to prevent the Commission from requiring officers (both those who have not yet answered and those who have had their answers stricken) to answer revised questions that meet constitutional requirements.”
The two questions that will be tossed come as the twin lawsuits from various policing groups and unions continue.
The Boston Police Superior Officers Federation said in a statement that it’s “pleased” with the ruling.
“Today’s ruling signals that even police reform and the officials tasked with implementing it must adhere to the law,” union president Jeanne Carroll said in a statement.
“Up to now, the Commission has acted as if they were written a blank check with ultimate authority. Today they learned that check won’t clear.”