- Police Brutality Watch

Religious leaders file discrimination complaint against Springfield police

A group of religious leaders have filed a racial discrimination complaint against the Springfield Police Department a week after the police commission decided not to take action against five white officers accused of beating a black school principal as he suffered a diabetic attack. The Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination announced it will start investigating the complaint lodged by the Pastors' Council of Greater Springfield. The complaint accuses the police department of having a history of brutality and discrimination against minorities. The complaint stems from a November incident when the five officers pulled Douglas Greer from his car as he was having a diabetic attack while parked at a convenience store, according to a statement released Tuesday by MCAD. Greer, the principal of the Robert M. Hughes Academy Charter School in Springfield, says the officers kicked and choked him and accused him of being on drugs. One of the officers in his report said police were trying to restrain Greer as he thrashed and screamed before he was taken to a hospital for treatment. The city's police commission voted last week not to take any action against the officers, saying they found no evidence of misconduct. One of the officers involved in the incident, Jeffrey Asher, was videotaped in 1997 while kicking a black suspect who was being arrested.[more] and [more]

Federal probe of police started
The U.S. Justice Department has confirmed it is investigating a complaint by a black school principal who said he was beaten by white city police officers Nov. 4 as he was having a diabetic attack in his parked car in the North End of the city. Perman Glenn III, the lawyer initially representing Douglas G. Greer, acting principal of Robert M. Hughes Academy Charter School, said earlier that he received a letter from the U.S. Justice Department saying it had asked the Federal Bureau of Investigation to investigate the allegation. The FBI is part of the Justice Department. Eric Holland, a spokesman for the Justice Department, confirmed this week there is an ongoing federal investigation. He would not say specifically whether the FBI is investigating. He said he does not know how long the investigation will take. The Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination is also investigating the incident at the request of the Pastors Council of Greater Springfield. The probe could take three to four months, an agency official said. [more]