Springfield police commission re-elects chair and vice chair; votes to enter executive session on disciplinary matters

At a Jan. 29 meeting at 299 Paige Boulevard, the Springfield Board of Police Commissioners approved routine minutes, re-elected leadership and voted to move into executive session to consider two disciplinary matters.

The board approved the minutes from its Dec. 11 meeting by voice/roll-call vote. The motion to re-elect Commissioner Trangisi as chair passed on a roll-call vote with Commissioners Fernandez, Jackson, Burdick, Rodan and Chaney recorded as voting yes. A separate motion to retain Commissioner Jackson as vice chair also passed with recorded yes votes from the same commissioners present.

The board announced an annual public meeting scheduled for March 12 at the Raymond Jordan Center, with a board-only session from 6 to 7:30 p.m. and a public portion beginning at 7:30 p.m. Commissioners said the annual meeting will include presentation of training activities and the commission’s annual report.

Toward the end of the public meeting, a motion was made and seconded to enter executive session “pursuant to Mass General Law chapter 30 c section 31 a” and “Mass General Law 30 a section 21 a 1” to consider two matters (special order numbers 24-32 and 23-181) that the board described as hearings related to discipline, dismissal, complaints or charges against public employees or individuals. The motion stated that, unless the employees requested open hearings, the matters would be heard in executive session and the board would not reconvene in public afterward. The motion passed on a roll-call vote at about 5 p.m.; Commissioner Fernandez, Commissioner Jackson, Commissioner Burdick and Commissioner Holden were recorded as voting yes.

The board did not discuss substantive details of the subject matters described in the motion during open session. The motion on executive session included the board’s reading of the statutory basis and the special order numbers that will be the subject of the closed hearings.

No disciplinary outcomes were announced in open session. The executive session was scheduled immediately following the public meeting and the board stated it would not return to open session after the closed hearing, consistent with the motion’s text.