Three officers promoted at Police Department
BY SARAH SAMARAJ CONRIBUTING WRITER
The Police Department is making policy changes in the wake of an Aug. 8 incident that resulted in a black male youth accusing officers of making racial slurs and acting inappropriately, Police Chief William Pittman said last week. Since the incident, Pittman said he has been looking to correct ongoing problems in the department, and that he will also address police data gathering and use-of-force policies.

A first step is the phasing out of "officers in charge," Pittman said. "An officer in charge is difficult to hold accountable, because they're not trained to be in a leadership role," he noted. "We're not worried about what [the officer in charge] will do, but what they'll not recognize as a problem," he added.

Instead, the department has promoted officers to leadership positions. Promoted last Monday to oversee the patrol division were Sgt. Angus MacVicar to Lieutenant and Jared Chretien and Howard McIntyre to Sergeant. MacVicar is a 15 year veteran of the Nantucket Police Department. Chretien has been on the force for five years; McIntyre for two.

PHOTOS BY ROB BENCHLEY/The Independent In a special ceremony on Monday, three island police officers received promotions. Top photo: Howard McIntyre receives a new police badge from Det. Sgt. Thomas Clinger as McIntyre is promoted from Officer to Sergeant. Above, with his children Joel and Eileen, is Angus MacVicar who was promoted from Sergeant to Lieutenant and will serve as Commander of the Patrol Division.

During the Broad Street incident, the names of people released by police at the scene were not documented, Pittman said. Several days later, people were coming to the department with complaints of pain as a result, they said, of being handled roughly. With the exception of those arrested, there were no names on any of the police reports, he said. "It's disturbing that it wasn't documented," he added.

The department plans to have "a more aggressive attempt to investigate and report what is going on out there," Pittman said. "This is so we can track incidents with force - from applying handcuffs to a gun being shot," he said. Everything will be recorded in detail.

After the investigation into the events of Aug. 8 is complete, Pittman said he plans to talk with a citizens' committee about the incident - how it could have been prevented, how it was handled and what could have been done better. The group consists of "opinionated people who are willing to come forward when they see a problem," he said.

The department's response to the call of the officer on duty that night was appropriate given the information it had, Pittman said, but he also sees room for improvement. "I think the response of the Police Department wasn't properly managed," he said, noting how the officers responded blindly to the situation and that had it been better managed it would have had a better outcome.

Pittman said it is fortunate that his department is not faced with the need to use force every day because it means the island is still a safe place to live. On the other hand, he pointed out, officers must still be prepared for the occasions when force is necessary, and that they must continue to train to keep their skill levels up.

"So far, I haven't seen any of this Board Street stuff as malicious intent," said Pittman, who used to work for the much larger Springfield, Ill., Police Department before accepting his position on Nantucket. "I'd put [the Nantucket Police Department] against [the Springfield, Ill., Police

Department] of 300 people … any day." I