“It is inconceivable to us as it is demoralizing that our city would propagate its support for this movement while standing silent over the seemingly daily protest assassinations of innocent police officers around the country”, he wrote last week.
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McGrath has not indicated how many officers will be at city hall for Thursday’s protest, but told Curtatone in the letter, “police officers will be carefully watching for your supportive response to this most important request”.
About 50 police officers and their supporters upset about a Black Lives Matter banner that has been hanging outside City Hall for almost a year rallied on Thursday to try to pressure the mayor to remove it.
Curtatone says that the city should be able to support both the Black Lives Matter movement and the police.
A “Black Lives Matter” banner hangs at the main entrance of City Hall.
He says union members and other officers from around the state will hold a rally Thursday evening. He notes the city also honors officers recently slain in Texas and Louisiana with a banner over police headquarters.
Somerville police chief David Fallon chided the union for getting involved in the debate.
“They’re wrong. It doesn’t inspire violence against police”.
The data for every quality-of-life indicator substantiates that black and brown lives in the United States “don’t matter” as much as others: lifespan, unemployment rates, income, home ownership, wealth accumulation, poverty, health care (though this has improved some with Obamacare), educational achievement and discipline, negative police interactions (racial profiling), police shootings/killings, prison populations, voter suppression, harassment in businesses….
“The banner implies that Somerville police officers are somehow responsible for racially motivated decision-making against minorities”, he said. At the time, he said it was meant to recognize that “structural racism” exists in society and stressed it was not a criticism of his police department. Curtatone reiterated that the banner will continue to hang over City Hall.
The police station in Somerville is also host to a banner, one that honors the fallen officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge and according to Curtatone, the conflict arose because there is a belief that the two ideas are competing with one another. He also said he’s “proud” of the response from residents, community leaders, faith-based leaders and activists, and he rejected the notion officers would face reprisals if they attended the opposition rally.
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