The Attleboro Police Department Is Held to a Higher Standard

I do not condone, nor do I tolerate, excessive use-of-force and then a cover-up of the incident. Simply put, I will not tolerate violations of our citizens' constitutional rights.

Nevertheless, the action of one officer should not be a reflection upon the other members of this department. I would hope the rest of the police officers are not publicly judged nor painted with a broad brush because of the conduct of one individual police officer.

The members of this Department work hard every day to protect the City. They are dictated to their profession. The police officers of this city make selfless sacrifices and risk their lives on a daily basis in order to protect the community. The police officers of this department have worked hard to build their good reputations and that of the police department.

The officers care deeply about the wellbeing of this city. They know what is expected of them and they perform their duties with honor and pride. I see on a daily basis the truly outstanding work that the employees of this department do, much of which goes unreported and unnoticed. I am proud to work shoulder-to-shoulder with them. However, discipline is fundamental to maintaining any semblance of order in a paramilitary organization. Under my command, a police officer will be held accountable for their actions and behavior. The officers are keenly aware of this fact.

Therefore, I want citizens to have confidence in the performance and integrity of its police. I want them to know that I am, as is my command staff, responsive to complaints. I am committed to being a transparent organization. When deficiencies or mistakes occur, we will acknowledge them and make appropriate corrections. We will not cover them up. We do this because, if the police can’t police themselves, who will police the police?

Our citizens have a right to professionalism from all employees of the city, especially from its law enforcement officers. We, as civil servants, must never forget that we have sworn an oath to serve and protect.

Furthermore, the need for honesty among police officers is widely recognized as being a fundamental job requirement. If an officer is found guilty for dishonesty it is a liability for the police department because his lack of credibility jeopardizes every court case, investigation and any physical evidence the officer is associated with. An officer who cannot testify in court is useless. It is akin as not being able to carry a gun.

Moreover, as with any organization going through a significant period of transition and paradigm shift, as we are, there are going to be bumps and hurdles to overcome.

Open and honest communication among department employees, from the top to the bottom, and between the community and its police department, is going to be critical to manage this change and develop new and innovative approaches. Thus, I am trying to implement new and creative was to gauge performance, efficiency and effectiveness of the service we provide.

My command staff and I are encouraging our employees to find new and better ways of doing their job. We are instituting new policing strategies, such as plain-clothes patrol officers, a traffic unit, and uniform changes, to name a few. However, one of the best ways to raise morale in a department is to acknowledge that the troops are doing a good job.

So, the command staff and I are personally interacting with the department and pointing out what a great a job is being done by sworn officers and civilian employees alike. Likewise, standing behind officers when they are experiencing personal or professional struggles helps maintain morale.

The members of the t truly understand that police officers are held to a higher standard in our society and they unequivocally condone unacceptable behavior. I stand behind them 100 percent. The police officers of this city are true professionals in every sense of the word.

Attleboro Acting Police Chief Kyle Heagney