Police Oversight and Civilian Review Board

At a glance

• What: whether Worcester should create a municipal civilian review board for the police.
• Where it stands: the City Manager's communication, recommending against a board, was placed on file 8-3 on 2026-09-08 (Bilotta, King, Ojeda opposed). The council majority accepted the administration's argument that existing oversight is enough.
• Next: Tom Marino's reform proposal was referred to Public Safety on 2026-09-22 (Toomey recused). Several related items remain on the tabled list.

How it reached the Council

• The City Manager's communication with a report and recommendation was held under privilege by Khrystian E. King (July 21) and Joseph M. Petty (August 18).
• It was taken up September 8, when the Chief Equity Officer (Kevin Lovaincy) presented the administration's recommendation not to proceed.
• King cited the Worcester Regional Research Bureau report "Overdue for Civilian Oversight: A Pathway for Lasting Police Reform" (his motion to request a copy was withdrawn).

Public comment (July 21)

• About 1 hour 45 minutes with roughly 50 speakers, nearly all urging the Council to reject the City Manager's July 17 recommendation and to create a board with subpoena power.
• They cited the 2024 Department of Justice report, the Research Bureau's October 2025 report, the Racial Equity Audit, a Human Rights Commission vote, police misconduct settlements, and the limits of the state POST Commission.
• Former Human Rights Commission members said the commission had been sidelined (speakers also said two members had resigned days earlier, which is their claim).
• A few speakers backed the police or body cameras.
• Frequent speakers include Gary Hunter, Idella Hazard, Randy Feldman, Margot Barnet, Etel Haxhiaj and Tom Marino.

Council discussion and votes (2026-09-08)

• No councilor moved to create a board.
• The majority cited DEI-office investigations, the state POST Commission, accreditation, body cameras and the Human Rights Commission as existing oversight (Human Rights Commission Role and Independence, WPD Accreditation and Policy Overhaul).
• Civilian review board communication placed on file 8-3.
• Luis A. Ojeda's and Satya B. Mitra's report orders adopted 11-0.
• The DOJ-closure discussion order was placed on file 8-3 and reconsideration denied.

Later developments

• 2026-09-15: Fresolo said his September 8 yes vote to file the communication was a mistake (he meant to keep it alive), though the filing stands.
• King's request for an executive session on a police officer's conduct failed 4-6 (reconsideration 1-9) after the Solicitor said the Council has no role in such personnel matters.
• Marino's proposal was still held under privilege after 9/15; referred to Public Safety on 2026-09-22 (Toomey recused).

Related items

• Ojeda's order on the rise in arrests.
• Mitra's biannual WPD goals and misconduct report.
• Kathleen M. Toomey's order on the closed Department of Justice investigation of the Worcester Police Department.
• Marino's "A Proposal for Police Reform in Worcester" (petition 7z on 9/15, held by Robert A. Bilotta).
• Tabled items on how the DOJ report differs from the city's account, an equity audit, and systemic racism and public safety hearings.

Discussion time

About 174 minutes across 4 meetings (from transcript timestamps; approximate).

Log

• 2026-09-22 - City Council — Many speakers again cited the Council's September 8 vote against a board while speaking on the camping ordinance and the police reform petition (Gary Hunter, Margot Barnet, Idella Hazard, David Webb, Heather Prunier Stanek and others; one called for an inspector general). Tom Marino's reform proposal was referred to Public Safety (see Police Reform Proposal (Tom Marino)). Tabled item 19f on how the DOJ report differs from the city's account saw no action.
• 2026-09-15 - City Council — Under suspension at the end of the meeting, John P. Fresolo said he had misread the September 8 motion to file the civilian review board communication (a yes vote ended it); he voted yes and should have voted no, since he supports a board. He said an on-duty police sergeant photographed a political sign on his lawn, that his daughter told Internal Affairs what she saw, and that the complaint produced no discipline or file note; he asked the sergeant, who has since come forward publicly, to apologize. Joseph M. Petty cautioned about personnel matters. Khrystian E. King moved for an executive session on September 22 on internal affairs matters; City Solicitor Alexandra H. Kalkounis advised the Council has no role in appointment, removal or discipline of city-manager-appointed employees and the item was not on the agenda. The motion was denied 4-6 (Toomey recused or abstaining per captions), reconsideration denied 1-9. Tom Marino's police reform petition 7z was held under privilege by Robert A. Bilotta. Public commenters, including several on the camping ordinance, again cited the Council's vote against a civilian review board and the DOJ findings. Luis A. Ojeda and Mitra report orders recorded as adopted.
• 2026-09-14 - Board of Health - Agenda only: 'City Council Civilian Review Board Update' (meeting reportedly adjourned without deliberations; rescheduled to Sept 30).
• 2026-09-08 - City Council — About 30 of 37 public speakers (public participation extended an hour, 11-0) opposed the City Manager's recommendation, including NAACP president Fred Taylor, Gary Hunter, Margot Barnet, Tom Marino, Randy Feldman, Fred Nathan (neutral) and Senator Robyn Kennedy; Donald Borek spoke against a board. Kevin Lovaincy gave a roughly 90-minute slide presentation (DEI office with five civilian investigators, joint assessment with the police Bureau of Professional Standards, December 2024 hotline of about 140 contacts, excessive-force complaints down about 81 percent since 2018, accreditation, body cameras, audit dashboard, and obstacles to a board) and said the administration would not move forward now; Khrystian E. King objected that the deck reached desks that day and asked for a pause (none allowed). Chief Paul B. Saucier and Lovaincy answered Luis A. Ojeda, Satya B. Mitra, Robert A. Bilotta and Gary Rosen. Kathleen M. Toomey, Jose A. Rivera, Morris A. Bergman, Tony Economou, Mitra, Rosen and Mayor Joseph M. Petty spoke against a board (Bergman: 'a solution for some people looking for a problem'); Bilotta and King backed a board as an addition to internal oversight, and John P. Fresolo told of a sergeant who photographed his campaign sign. Rosen's motion to place on file passed 8-3 (Bilotta, King, Ojeda opposed). Ojeda's arrests report and Mitra's biannual SMART goals report adopted 11-0; King's motion to suspend Rule 21 for more time failed 5-6; King withdrew his Research Bureau report motion. Toomey's DOJ-closure order placed on file 8-3 (see DOJ Investigation of the Worcester Police Department).
• 2026-08-18 - City Council — Item 23f: held under privilege a second time, 8-0 (King, Economou, Ojeda absent), in Petty's name. The Mayor announced the hold at the start of the meeting and asked people to wait to comment until the next meeting, adding that anyone who spoke now could not speak again then; remote speaker David Webb called that an abuse of power and criticized the police and the DOJ closure in his comments. Same night, Kathleen M. Toomey held her order for a Public Safety discussion of the DOJ investigation closure (item 13l) and the tabled City Manager communication on the DOJ report saw no action.
• 2026-08-03 - Board of Health - Chair Anthes noted Council was again considering a civilian review board; Board voted 4-0 to put it on the next agenda (Anthes recalled that in 2020-2021 the Board heard the police union, the chief and a Springfield review board advocate, then voted 4-1 for a board, to be checked), asked staff for its 2020-2021 minutes, Michael Perotto noting the City Manager does not support a board, and unanimously voted to tell the City Manager it wants to engage the Human Rights Commission.
• 2026-07-21 - City Council — Item 10.5A CM: the Council suspended its rules (11-0) for an extra hour of public participation; about 50 speakers, nearly all against the City Manager's recommendation (the journal lists one in favor of the item; the minutes do not say what the report recommended, but speakers described a July 17 recommendation against a board). Khrystian E. King asked to take the item out of order near 1:44 into the recording and held it under privilege as a "premature recommendation"; there was no Council debate on the report. At the close Robert A. Bilotta said an August speaker's "twice as many people" remark suggested the hold was pre-arranged and that he would likely oppose another extended public participation period. Tabled DOJ-report communication (27f) saw no action.