Letters

OP-ED: Watertown Group’s Statement on Policing, Systematic Racism

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The following op-ed was written by Watertown Citizens for Black Lives, a working group of Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice & the Environment:

July 2020

Something about the moment we are in – maybe it’s because COVID-19 has made it impossible to ignore the deadly ways race predicts health outcomes, or because our disrupted routines make it possible for a single event to galvanize our shared attention on a huge scale – something made everyone notice the brutal killing of George Floyd. As sickening as his murder was, it was far from unique. Floyd’s name is one in a very long list of Black people killed by police (or by vigilantes with ties to law enforcement), a list that includes Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, Rayshard Brooks, and too, too many others (https://mappingpoliceviolence.org/). Activists campaigning for safe communities have been imploring for years that we reaffirm the individual humanity of each of these lives, and our own, by saying their names, by holding their killers accountable, and by creating conditions such that Black lives are no longer disproportionately the victims of state violence. Since George Floyd’s death, more people, and notably more white people, are finally beginning to reckon with the long history of police brutality against Black, Indigenous and other People of Color (BIPOC).

Police/Fire

Police Log: Serial Shoplifters Spotted at Target, Resident Caught in Rent Deposit Scam

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Arrests

None

Incidents

July 6, 6:02 p.m.: The manager of the General Market on Waverley Avenue discovered that someone paid with a counterfeit $100. A man came in to cashed in some lottery tickets and purchased new scratch tickets. He owed $10 and gave a $100 bill to the person at the register, who gave back $90. Later the manager realized it was a fake bill. The suspect is described as an African-American man, around 20 years old, wearing a black sweatshirt with “Air Jordan” on the front, a black baseball hat, dark pants and a white medical mask.

Police/Fire

Watertown Man Arrested in N.H. Child Pornography Investigation

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The eight suspects arrested in a child pornography investigation in Nashua, N.H., including Juan Correa of Watertown (bottom, left)

A Watertown man faces charges of possession of a “Child Sexual Abuse Image” after being arrested by police in New Hampshire. Juan Correa, 31, of Ladd Street in Watertown, was arrested by Nashua Police on July 15 on a charge of Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Image, police announced. He was released on personal recognizance bail, and he will be arraigned in Hillsborough County Superior Court South on Aug. 20. The arrest was one of eight made in an investigation by the Nashua Police Department and Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force focusing on child exploitation during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Nashua Police.

Police/Fire

Five Watertown Firefighters Receive Promotions, One Appointed

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Watertown Fire Chief Bob Quinn announced several promotions made in the Watertown Fire Department, and a firefighter has been added to the WFD. The Fire Department sent out the following information:

The Chief of Department is pleased to announce that Town Manager Michael J. Driscoll has made the following promotions effective Sunday, July 12, 2020:

View this post on Instagram The Chief of Department is pleased to announce that Town Manager Michael J. Driscoll has made the following promotions effective Sunday, July 12, 2020: Firefighter Glen McManus to Permanent Fire Lieutenant Lieutenant Michael Anastasi to Temporary Fire Captain Firefighter Ralph Mele to Temporary Fire Lieutenant Firefighter Jason Capello to Temporary Fire Lieutenant Firefighter Jeffrey Pugliese Jr. to Temporary Fire Lieutenant Please join us in wishing these members continued success in their new positions. @watertownmagov A post shared by Deputy Chief Ryan Nicholson (@watertownfire) on Jul 12, 2020 at 6:59am PDT

Firefighter Glen McManus to Permanent Fire LieutenantLieutenant Michael Anastasi to Temporary Fire CaptainFirefighter Ralph Mele to Temporary Fire LieutenantFirefighter Jason Capello to Temporary Fire LieutenantFirefighter Jeffrey Pugliese Jr. to Temporary Fire Lieutenant

Please join us in wishing these newly promoted Fire Officers continued success in their new positions. The Town Manager’s office also sent out the following annoucement:

“We are pleased to announce that Town Manager Michael J. Driscoll has appointed Mr. Christopher Fidler as a Firefighter for the Town of Watertown, effective Sunday, July 12, 2020.”

Police/Fire

Police Log: Customer Gets in Altercation for Not Wearing Mask, Man Caught Trying to Get into Cars

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The following information was provided by the Watertown Police Department. Arrest

July 3, 6:35 a.m.: Police received reports of a man pulling on door handles on Westminster Avenue near Bemis Street. The witness saw the man pulling on a door handle of a Honda SUV, and then tried to get into the hatchback, but both were locked. Officers located a man fitting the suspect’s description. The man said he took a taxi to town to visit his sister, and said he thought the vehicle was his sister’s.

Around Town

Police Log: Suspect Caught With Items Taken from Vehicles, Man Busted for Stealing Plants

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The following information was provided by the Watertown Police Department. Arrests

None

Incidents

Between June 22 and June 28, the Watertown Police Department received six reports of an unemployment scheme. The residents report that they got letters about their unemployment applications, but they had never filed for benefits. Unemployment fraud can be reported to the Department of Unemployment Assistance by clicking here. June 22, 6:04 a.m.: Police were called when a witness saw someone trying to get into the window of an Audi SUV on Waverley Avenue.

Police/Fire

Coyote Attacks Dog, Takes it From Porch of Watertown Home

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A coyote. Watertown Police warned residents to watch their pets after a resident reported that her dog had been attacked and taken from her front porch by a coyote. The dog’s body was later found by Police. The attack occurred Tuesday night at a home on Langdon Avenue. The owner had put her Bijon Shitsu, Moogie, on her front porch.

Fiscal Year 2021

Council Approves Town Budget Which Includes 2nd Mental Health Specialist for the Police

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Funding for a second mental health clinician was added to the Watertown Police Department as part of the $152 million Town Budget approved by the Town Council this week. Town Manager Michael Driscoll announced the addition of $45,000 for the clinician at Monday night’s Public Hearing on the Fiscal Year 2021 budget. The move was made after the Council’s budget hearing held on June 24, when several people requested the Town ad more mental health professionals and to do so by reducing the Police Department’s budget. Driscoll said the new position would be funded using money left in the Town’s Free Cash fund at the end of Fiscal Year 2020, so it did not come out of the WPD’s budget. After last week’s meeting, Driscoll spoke with Watertown Police Chief Michael Lawn about adding another clinician, who would also work with the WPD’s jail diversion program.