Trooper
Massachusetts State Police - The Nation's Oldest…Established 1865
Newspaper
Volume 26, Number 7
The Official Publication of the State Police Association of Massachusetts August 2013
Serving New England's Largest Police Association
SPAM?billboard a sign of reassurance
Recently you may have seen two articles that appeared in the Worcester Telegram and Gazette regarding recent actions taken by Sutton Police Chief Dennis Towle over jurisdiction on Route 146, a state highway that passes through his community. Our members and rank and file officers in Sutton, who are on the ground to serve the public safety needs every day, have worked together professionally for years. The Chief has taken to harassing troopers on the job, filming their patrol activities, confronting supervisors backing up our personnel on video and raising issues of jurisdictional boundaries with our officers and with MassDOT. MassDOT responding to correspondence sent by Chief Towle, clearly iterated that state police officers are the primary agency of jurisdiction on state-road Route 146. Unsatisfied by their answer, the Chief continued to press MassDOT, and engage the media in advancing his position. As noted in the article, this is a turf battle, the Chief’s, not one started by the members of the State Police. It is further disturbing to see that Chief Towle clearly has no idea or cares about the CMR’s, jurisdiction and how the details are filled. MassDOT writes the safety plan needed for each road project in the Commonwealth, the details are then filled by either the state police, local police or sheriffs department, depending on the availability of the personnel. The upcoming road project on Route 146 is large and will likely need support from all related police agencies to fill the required traffic details. The amount of erroneous and incomplete information put out by the Chief to state agencies and the media, required that SPAM respond by assuring the citizens of Sutton that our members are always ready to serve. The slogan used on the billboard in question is one that the association has employed for 40+ years, appearing on bumper stickers and other public education documents. The slogan is also utilized by almost all members of the NTC (National Troopers Coalition). The following quote from A. Wayne Sampson, executive director of the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police association, “We have never seen such a vicious attack on a local community by SPAM as that billboard”. This sentiment, from a former chief is reprehensible. This is just a larger version of our bumper sticker, given out to thousands of our members and supporters for over forty years
• Billboard - Continued on pg. 3
Bulldog of the Month Award Recipients Instrumental in Bringing Down International Child Pornography Ring
pg. 12
In This Is sue.......
President’s Message ........ Page 2 Chaplain’s Corner ........... Page 4 Editor’s Message .............. Page 2 Ole’ Sarge ........................... Page 4 Treasurer’s Notes .............. Page 2 Boxing Update .................. Page 12
“Our Purpose is Progress, Our Goal is Excellence”
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