Commission grants Section 40 transfers to former Boston Municipal Police Department officers

In a decision stemming from the abolishment of the Boston Municipal Police Department ("BPMD") in 2007, the Commission has ordered the Human Resources Division to accept transfer requests under Section 40 of Chapter 31 from 27 former officers of BPMD to the Boston Police Department.  The decision, Twenty-Seven Former Boston Municipal Police Officers, Sergeants and Lieutenants v. Boston Police Department, Nos. D1-07-05 - D1-07-31, was issued after a ruling by the Massachusetts Appeals Court that found sufficient evidence to permit a finding that there had been a "transfer of functions" within the meaning of Section 40 from the BPMD to the Boston Police Department.  Following the Appeals Court decision, the Commission further reviewed the evidence and determined that a "significant and material"portion of functions had been transferred from the BPMD to the Boston Police Department.  However, the Commission found a lack of evidence that the supervisory functions of the BPMD were transferred to the Boston Police Department.  Therefore, the Commission limited its ruling to allowing the appellants to request transfers to officer positions only, regardless of whether they had been superior officers with the BPMD.