Driver cited in protest incident; town traffic sign changed

BOSTON (AP) - A look at developments in Massachusetts related to the national reckoning with racism and police brutality:

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DRIVER CITED IN PROTEST INCIDENT

Police in the Boston suburb of Newton have cited a man for driving his pickup truck through a group of young Black Lives Matter demonstrators.

The man, identified only as a 55-year-old Needham resident, was cited for operating a motor vehicle so as to endanger and failure to use care when starting a motor vehicle, police said.

Newton Mayor Ruthanne Fuller said the altercation, which was captured on video, happened Tuesday after a group of mostly school-age protesters demonstrated peacefully outside City Hall.

Fuller said the man verbally confronted the demonstrators as he left the city building, then drove his pick-up truck “aggressively toward the demonstrators” even though there was another exit available.

The mayor said no one was hurt. Organizers say 60 or so attended the rally, including young children.

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POLICING BILL

The Massachusetts Senate debated a bill Thursday that backers say would reform policing in the state.

Supporters of the legislation - including Democratic Senate President Karen Spilka - say it will increase police accountability, shift the roles of law enforcement away from surveillance and punishment, and begin to dismantle systemic racism.

The bill would strengthen the use of force standards for law enforcement agencies, create a Police Officer Standards and Accreditation Commission, redirect funding from policing and corrections toward community investment, and place a moratorium on facial surveillance technology.

It would also remove barriers to the expungement of juvenile records, ban racial profiling in law enforcement, create a commission on the status of African Americans, and require increased data collection and reporting.

The bill is a response to statewide demonstrations following the May 25 killing of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police.

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‘ALL LIVES MATTER’ MESSAGE REMOVED

The mayor in a Boston suburb has ordered the police department to remove of a message posted on an electronic traffic sign that referenced the “All Lives Matter” phrase used by critics of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Melrose Mayor Paul Brodeur said in a Facebook post Wednesday that a message reading “The Safety of All Lives Matter” was posted on a police department electronic sign on the town’s Main Street.

He apologized to residents and said he’s taking steps to find out how it happened.

Police Chief Michael Lyle said the message was posted by a traffic officer who was supposed to change the sign from one about fireworks being illegal to a “more general traffic safety message.”

He said the officer maintains he “did not post the message with either malicious or political intent.”

The chief said going forward, all roadway messages will be approved by his office prior to being posted.

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HAIR STYLIST FIRED

A hair stylist has been fired for complaining about having to cut a Black girl’s hair.

WBZ-TV reports the incident happened at a Supercuts in Westborough.

Damalyn Matthews says the stylist said she had to notify the shop when making the appointment that her 7-year-old daughter was Black.

Matthews posted a complaint on Facebook and the salon owner responded saying the unnamed employee has since been let go.