Boston Police Patrolman's Union Paper Blasts 'Disgusting J.P. Liberals'

The newsletter put out by the Boston Police Patrolmen's Association, the PAX CENTURION, has been getting a lot of attention lately for what some see as sexism, racism and homophobia.

City brass have gone public with criticism. Mayor Tom Menino called it "garbage" and the city's top cop Tweeted that it is "not rep[resentative] of today's officer."

Some advertisers have pulled their support from the newsletter after reporting by Phoenix writer (and JP resident) Chris Faraone. He highlighted PAX CENTURION items that, in his words, "read like a Klan fanzine scribbled by a chimp pushing a crayon."

One target of the newsletter's vitriol has been Faraone's neighborhood — Jamaica Plain. A headline in the May/June issue read "Disgusting J.P. liberals 'offended' at street signs for fallen cops."

The story by Officer Jim Carnell, the editor of the PAX CENTURION, took issue with neighbors who balked at the lack of public process before the memorial signs went up. Carnell cited a Gazette story about the three signs that have gone up in JP.

"The neighborhood junta didn't get to issue a list of demands to the City! The ad-hoc committee of the people's revolutionary sign-erection council didn't give its approval? Oh, the violation of rights! The injustice! The hurt feelings! The wailing! The whining! Somebody, call for a meeting of the Jamaica Plain Revolutionary Democratic People's Republic Council for the approval of all things that are none of their God-damned business."

The article cites the episode as "yet another example of the disrespect and contempt that liberal communities have for police."

The online archives of the PAX CENTURION appear to have been removed from the union's web site, but the Phoenix has posted the back issues. The article about JP appears in the May/June 2012 newsletter on page A17. That edition is the first one you'll see when you visit the Phoenix archive.

It's worth noting that many Boston Police officers say the newsletter doesn't reflect them and their views. They include James "Larry" Brown, the former president of the Massachusetts Association of African-American Police. Brown discussed the PAX CENTURION on Radio Boston on Friday.