Malden Police Department Sgt. Powell Named Civil Rights Officer

Malden MA

22 September, 2020

6:39 PM

Description

MALDEN, MA — When Gov. Charlie Baker signed an executive order three years ago that re-established a task force designed to combat hate crimes at the Commonwealth and local levels, he did so with the understanding that community law enforcement agencies would play a major role. On Tuesday, the Malden Police Department appointed Detective Sgt. Michael Powell as its Civil Rights Officer. In the role, Powell will serve as a liaison between the department and the community in all civil rights matters. In addition, Powell will lead efforts to increase awareness, detection, prosecution and proper reporting of hate crimes and other matters in which racial injustice may take place, the department announced in a news release. Powell told Patch that he accepted the offer to move into the role not only because he believes in its importance, but because he wants to create a bridge between the community and the department and because he feels that at times, face-to-face meetings between police and the cities they serve are required as "words will not do it justice," Powell said. "The responsibilities that the assignment holds will hopefully open up better dialogue with our community members, particularly those that have been victimized by hate incidents and/or hate crimes," Powell wrote in an email to Patch. "I want to give a 'face' to the title so that people can feel comfortable with reaching out to me in all areas of community relations, so everyone feels included." According to the department, Powell recently completed training in civil rights and will, moving forward, lead training sessions for department members in this area. Department officials said that Powell will be carrying on the agency's sincere commitment to "fair and impartial policing" to ensure that procedural justice is guaranteed to everyone equally. "I look forward to learning and growing with my new assignment, and making it meaningful to the City of Malden," Powell said.