Worcester Councilors Flooded With 'Defund Police' Emails: Records

WORCESTER, MA — The Worcester mayor and City Council were flooded with emails in recent weeks encouraging the city to either reduce or eliminate police funding, according to city records.

The emails track the rise of a movement in Worcester dedicated to eliminating police funding, and show how activists latched on to key political moments in recent weeks. A bulk of the emails were sent by city residents, but people from across Massachusetts — and some from other states — also joined in. Patch obtained the emails through a public records request spanning June 1 to June 12.

On June 1, a large and peaceful rally was held behind City Hall in response to the Memorial Day death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis. But later that night, riot police fought with a group of protesters in Main South.

Just a few hours after that clash, residents began emailing to condemn the police response in Main South and to ask for a reduction in police spending.

"I am looking forward to your condemnation of this violent response by police and looking forward to the actions within the city’s budget to begin to defund police, remove the police from the schools, and begin to look towards real community efforts towards anti-racist healing," wrote Elizabeth Fortin in an email sent around 9 a.m. on June 2.

That same day, leaders at Clark University announced the school would no longer hire off-duty Worcester police for security. Four Clark students were among the 19 arrested in the city June 1. At a City Council meeting that night, Councilor Morris Bergman accused Clark University of mounting a "publicity stunt."

Bergman also asked for a legal opinion about whether city police would still have to respond to emergencies on campus "if Clark University has made the assertion that the Worcester Police Department is unwelcome on their property."

Clark students and alumni responded negatively to Bergman's move, according to the emails.

"Clark University’s decision comes after not only its students were treated improperly by the WPD (one student even having their phone smashed by an officer), but also after days and days of students like myself calling and emailing the administration to suspend ties with WPD," student C.J. Axford wrote in one email. "Clarkies take our motto of 'Challenge Convention, Change Our World' seriously and so many of us believe in a world that does not need the police."

But the bulk of the emails focused on the fiscal 2021 budget.

City Manager Edward Augustus Jr. proposed a $254,000 increase for the department, and Defund WPD focused heavily on urging councilors to cut that from the budget. Many of the emails sent to the City Council followed scripts offered by the group, but some did take the time to write original emails.

"I respect the police but feel that an overhaul of the police budget is overdue," wrote Elmwood Street resident Sheila Brenner. "Please take the police out of schools and off construction sites. Redistribute the money saved into social services which reduce the need for police presence."

Only a few emails about defunding police got a response from City Councilors. On June 10, a man named Edward Favreault wrote to District 2 Councilor Candy Mero-Carlson and asked her not to take away money from police.

"Thanks Ed for reaching out, I have no plans to defund WPD," she responded.

In another response, Bergman told two constituents, Reva and Erica Capellari, that he would not be voting to reduce police funding.

"I think making such a 'radical' change in policing, especially in an emotionally charged environment and without the calmness of being able to fully [think] through all the consequences, would not be best in Worcester's best interest at this time," Bergman responded on June 10.

On June 16, the Council approved the budget without reducing police funding. Councilor Khrystian King moved to reconsider the budget vote at the June 23 meeting. During that meeting, King asked to move about $257,000 from the police budget into new initiatives, including hiring a jail diversion social worker.

The budget reconsideration ultimately failed, and so it became law by default — the $254,000 increase for police included — on Friday.