Massachusetts police officers now need a state certification to work, and they can lose it. The 2020 police reform law, St. 2020, c. 253, created the Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission, set statewide limits on police use of force, banned chokeholds, and required officers to intervene when another officer uses excessive force. For anyone facing a criminal charge, the law matters for another reason: it made a growing body of officer discipline records public.
At a Glance: Police Reform Law
POST Commission
certifies, suspends, and decertifies officers (G.L. c. 6E)
Chokeholds banned
and force limited to what is necessary and proportionate
Duty to intervene
officers must stop and report excessive force
Public records
decertified and disciplined officers are listed online
The law: St. 2020, c. 253; G.L. c. 6E, §§ 2–15; G.L. c. 12, § 11H(b)
What the 2020 Law Did
Governor Baker signed An Act Relative to Justice, Equity and Accountability in Law Enforcement in the Commonwealth on December 31, 2020. Its main pieces are:
- A new chapter of the General Laws, G.L. c. 6E, creating the POST Commission and a certification system for law enforcement officers.
- Statewide rules on use of force, including a chokehold ban (c. 6E, § 14).
- A duty for officers to intervene in and report excessive force (c. 6E, § 15).
- A limit on qualified immunity for officers who are decertified (G.L. c. 12, § 11H(b)).
- Rules on government use of facial recognition (G.L. c. 6, § 220).
The POST Commission and Officer Certification
Who sits on it. The POST Commission has 9 members: 3 appointed by the Governor, 3 by the Attorney General, and 3 jointly (c. 6E, § 2(a)). The statute reserves seats for a police chief, a retired Superior Court justice, a social worker, two law enforcement officers, and a civil rights attorney. All other commissioners must be civilians who were never law enforcement officers (§ 2(b)). Commissioners serve 5-year terms, and no one may serve more than 10 years (§ 2(d)).
Its powers. The Commission can certify officers and can “deny an application or limit, condition, restrict, revoke or suspend a certification.” It can also “issue subpoenas and compel the attendance of witnesses,” require testimony under oath, and “refer cases for criminal prosecution” to federal, state, or local authorities (§ 3(a)).
Certification is required. No agency may “appoint or employ a person as a law enforcement officer unless the person is certified by the commission” (§ 4(g)). Minimum standards include (§ 4(f)(1)):
- being at least 21 years old;
- a high school education or equivalent;
- completing approved basic training;
- a physical and psychological fitness evaluation;
- a state and national background check, including fingerprinting and full employment history;
- passing a Commission-approved exam;
- current first aid and CPR certificates;
- an oral interview with the Commission; and
- being “of good moral character and fit for employment in law enforcement, as determined by the commission.”
The Commission may not certify anyone convicted of a felony or listed in the national or state decertification databases (§ 4(f)(2)). A certification “shall expire 3 years after the date of issuance,” and officers must apply for renewal before it expires (§ 4(f)(3), (i)).
Suspension. The Commission “shall immediately suspend the certification of any officer who is arrested, charged or indicted for a felony,” and may suspend an officer charged with a misdemeanor that affects fitness to serve (§ 9(a)). A suspended officer is entitled to “a hearing before a commissioner within 15 days” (§ 9(d)).
Mandatory decertification. After a hearing, the Commission “shall” revoke certification if it finds by clear and convincing evidence that the officer, among other grounds (§ 10(a)):
- was convicted of a felony;
- knowingly filed a police report containing a false statement or committed perjury;
- tampered with a record for use in an official proceeding;
- was fired for intentional conduct to obtain false confessions, make a false arrest, or create or use falsified evidence;
- used force in violation of § 14, used a chokehold, or used excessive force resulting in death or serious bodily injury;
- failed to intervene to stop another officer’s excessive or prohibited force;
- intimidated a witness.
Discretionary suspension or decertification. The Commission “may” suspend or revoke certification for a misdemeanor conviction, biased conduct, a pattern of unprofessional conduct, discipline by the officer’s agency, or “repeated sustained internal affairs complaints” (§ 10(b)).
How Misconduct Complaints Reach POST
Section 8 of c. 6E creates a division of police standards inside the Commission to investigate officer misconduct.
- Agencies must forward complaints. The head of an agency must send “any complaint received by said agency within 2 business days” to the division. The report must state whether the complaint alleges bias, unprofessional conduct, excessive, prohibited, or deadly force, or serious bodily injury or death (§ 8(b)(1)). The Commission may set a streamlined process for minor complaints that do not involve force or bias.
- Follow-up reports. Agencies must report the results of their internal investigation, the final discipline, and any resignation during an investigation (§ 8(b)(2)–(4)).
- Preliminary inquiries. The division must open a preliminary inquiry when there is sufficient evidence that an officer was involved in an officer-involved injury or death, committed a felony or misdemeanor, or violated the force or intervention rules in §§ 14 and 15 (§ 8(c)(1)). Preliminary inquiry records are confidential, but evidence “which may be used in a criminal proceeding” may be turned over to the Attorney General, the U.S. Attorney, or a district attorney (§ 8(c)(2)).
- Complaint database. The division keeps a database of complaints, “allegations of untruthfulness,” discipline, decertification, and terminations for cause, and monitors it for patterns of unprofessional conduct (§ 8(e)–(f)).
Use-of-Force Limits
Section 14 of c. 6E sets these rules:
- Physical force is allowed only if de-escalation “has been attempted and failed or [is] not feasible,” and the force is necessary to make a lawful arrest or detention, prevent escape, or prevent imminent harm, with force “proportionate to the threat.”
- Deadly force is allowed only when necessary “to prevent imminent harm to a person” and proportionate to that threat, again after de-escalation has failed or is not feasible.
- Chokeholds: “A law enforcement officer shall not use a chokehold.”
- Fleeing vehicles: officers may not fire into or at a fleeing vehicle unless necessary to prevent imminent harm to a person and proportionate.
- Crowds: tear gas, rubber pellets, and police dogs may be used to control behavior only after de-escalation has failed or is not feasible and only when necessary and proportionate to prevent imminent harm.
The Duty to Intervene
An officer who sees another officer use force “beyond that which is necessary or objectively reasonable” must intervene to prevent it, unless doing so would put the officer or another identifiable person at imminent risk of harm (c. 6E, § 15(a)). The officer must also report the incident to a supervisor by the end of the shift, with a detailed written statement (§ 15(b)). Failing to intervene is a ground for mandatory decertification (§ 10(a)).
Qualified Immunity
The law did not abolish qualified immunity. It created a narrow exception in the Massachusetts Civil Rights Act. Under G.L. c. 12, § 11H(b), everyone has “the right to bias-free professional policing,” and “No law enforcement officer shall be immune from civil liability” for conduct that violates that right “if said conduct results in the law enforcement officer’s decertification” by the POST Commission. The same law created a special commission to study qualified immunity (St. 2020, c. 253, § 116).
What This Means for a Criminal Defendant
The most practical change for a person charged with a crime is access to information about the officers in the case.
- Decertification records. The Commission must keep a public database listing decertified officers, the date, the last agency, and “the reason for decertification,” along with suspended officers and officers ordered to retrain (c. 6E, § 13).
- Disciplinary records. The POST Commission publishes officer disciplinary records (sustained allegations and discipline reported by agencies) and officer status lists showing who is certified, suspended, or decertified. The Commission notes that the records do not include unfounded or non-sustained complaints.
- Using the records. A defense lawyer can check whether an arresting officer has a sustained finding of untruthfulness, a false report, or excessive force. Prosecutors must disclose evidence favorable to the defense, including information that bears on an officer’s credibility. See the Brady list. Whether a particular record can be used at trial is decided by the judge under the rules of evidence.
- Use-of-force rules. The § 14 limits and the § 15 duty to intervene give a clear statewide standard to measure an officer’s conduct against, for example when a client is charged with resisting arrest after a use of force.
Why a Lawyer Matters
Officer records are public, but finding the right one, tying it to the issues in your case, and getting it before the judge takes work. In 23 years of defending clients in Massachusetts courts, I have seen how much an officer’s credibility can matter. If you have been charged with a crime, contact my office or call 781-393-5900.
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Disclaimer
This article is for general educational information about Massachusetts criminal law. It is not legal advice for your situation, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change. For advice about a specific case, speak with a licensed Massachusetts attorney.
