Boston mayor commits to police reform task force recommendations, pledges to make them a reality

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh committed to the recommendations from the Boston Police Reform Task Force Tuesday, pledging to make them a reality for the city.

“As of today, I’m pleased to officially accept these recommendations, all of these recommendations,” Walsh said. “And today I can announce that I’ll use every tool at my disposal to make this a reality.”

The task force’s recommendations include:

• Expanding the Boston Police Department’s commitment to diversity and inclusion
• Creating an independent civilian police oversight office with full investigatory and subpoena power
• Expanding the department’s adoption of the body-worn camera program and continuing to ban the use of biometrics and facial recognition software
• Enhancing the use of force policies to include clear and enforceable disciplinary code
• Adopting practices that maximize accountability, transparency and public access to the BPD

Walsh said he will form the new civilian oversight office within the coming weeks and will start the process to hire an executive director for the office immediately.

The oversight office, known as the Office of Police Accountability and Transparency, will include a civilian review board with subpoena power. The office will also feature an internal affairs oversight panel that will be able to police internal affairs investigations at its discretion and without limitations.

He said he will create a diversity and inclusion unit within the police department and pledged to file home rule petitions at the Massachusetts State House to allow Boston to enact the task force’s civil service reform recommendations, according to a statement from the mayor’s office.

In June, Walsh declared racism a public health crisis and appointed a task force to review police policies and procedures.

“Four months ago, I stood at this podium, this podium right outside that door, and I talked about what we need to do in our city,” Walsh said Tuesday. “I was clear that we need to dismantle systemic racism and build up equity and justice for every resident in our city.”

The police reform task force is comprised of “members from the community, law enforcement, advocacy organizations, and the legal profession, to ensure that these commitments are translated to actions,” according to the statement.

Over the summer, the task force hosted a series of community listening sessions to gather community feedback related to police reform.

CNN has reached out to the Boston Police Department and the Boston Police Patrolman’s Association for comment.