Worcester Police present annual report to Human Rights Commission; department details complaints, reforms and community programs

Worcester Police Department leaders presented an annual report to the Human Rights Commission at the commission’s June monthly meeting, addressing complaint patterns, use‑of‑force oversight, language access, interactions with federal agents during an ICE‑related incident on Eureka Street, ShotSpotter activations, and recruitment and training initiatives.

Public comments at the start of the meeting framed the conversation: Ashley Spring Wister told the commission, “despite several months passing since the Department of Justice investigation was completed … we have yet to see any meaningful change from the Worcester Police Department,” and asked commissioners to consider that when hearing the police report.

Chief Paul Sarsi, accompanied by multiple deputy chiefs, captains and the department’s diversity officer, reviewed data the department supplied. Chief Sarsi and other senior leaders said the department’s records-management and internal‑affairs software presently limit the ability to automatically disaggregate complaint types over a 15‑year span; they said older systems grouped many complaint types under administrative labels such as “submitting reports,” so a manual review would be required to identify bias‑related complaints from earlier years.

On case counts and complaints, the department reported that in 2024 it received 39 total complaints that generated 91 individual allegations across categories captured in the Bureau of Professional Standards reports. The department said 54.95% of allegations in that year’s reports were sustained (50 sustained allegations reported in the BOPS spreadsheet provided). Officials noted that the number of complaints is small compared with the volume of incidents police respond to; one presentation line stated there were roughly 143,065 incidents in 2024 and 39 complaints tied to that volume.

Use of force and taser data: the department provided detailed counts for electronic-control device (TASER) incidents and other higher‑level force events. In 2024 there were 86 TASER displays, 11 drive‑stun contacts and 8 probe deployments reported in the attachments. The department said drive‑stun contacts in 2024 were recorded as…