General Meeting Report

Reform Guidelines For Police Leadership Approved

            Members assembled at IL Forno’s restaurant in Littleton MA for  MAPLE’s 14th General Membership meeting yesterday. Bob Ferullo, the Executive Director of the Massachusetts Police Training Committee and Chief Sam Santiago of the Shirley Police attended as guests.  After a great lunch, Bob Ferullo gave the members a good insight into the interaction of the MPTC and the POST Commission. He described the partnership as a “good working relationship”.   He went on to discuss the pending crisis in police mental health citing several recent suicides of officers.  He noted that efforts are being made to address officer survival but that more needs to be done.  

            MAPLE held its fourth election of officers with the following members elected and re-elected to both constitutional officers and as board members.  Elected as constitutional officers were:  Dennis Galvin -President, Bob Champagne – Vice President, Bill Rose – Treasurer and Marcel Beausoleil – Secretary.  Three members were elected to the board of directors, two returned and one was newly elected.    Incumbent board members Kathy Dennehy and Al Puller were re-elected and member Anne Marie Mires was newly elected by acclamation to fill the third slot.  Special thanks to Bob Murphy, who served as the election commission this year and Marcel Beausoleil, who helped coordinate the mail out effort.

             A comprehensive reform document for police leadership was also approved. The document lays out a series of professional expectations related to vision, values, mission and intent for the police service, first line supervision, senior police management and training.  The reform package represents part 1 or a two-part document that should be completed by the fall meeting.  In other business, a 6K budget was approved and a moment of silence was held in memory of Lieutenant Mike Pavone MSP (ret) a member for the past 4 years, and Kathy Faiella, wife of member Pat Faiella.  Both passed away during the first half of this year.

( More information on the meeting will follow)