Boston's largest police union agrees to new contract with the city

Boston's largest police union has approved a new contract with the city, a proposal that would add tens of millions of dollars in increased wages to the city budget and allow non-department officers to provide police details in Boston.

The new contract comes after 18 months of negotiations and makes it harder for officers involved in certain crimes to stay on the force.

Larry Calderone of the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association at a Tuesday press conference praised the change that would close loopholes allowing officers charged with various crimes — including rape, felonies-for-hire and hate crimes — to overturn discipline or firing through the police arbitration process.

"It's been a very long, trying time," Calderone said. Police had been working without a contract since 2020 as the two sides dead-locked at the bargaining table.

"The turning point is the mayor stepping in and closing the deal," Calderone said. He recounted a private conversation in which, he said, Mayor Michelle Wu personally showed up to negotiations and asked how best to show the men and women of the police force she cares for them.

Wu had made police reform a primary focus of her 2021 campaign for mayor. She pledged not to sign any new contract that failed to include "significant" reforms to the disciplinary process and overtime pay.

At the press conference, Wu said it was groundbreaking that, "Our Boston police officers overwhelmingly voted to hold themselves accountable to the standards that they believe our residents deserve."

On the disciplinary front, Calderone cited his predecessor Patrick Rose — a convicted child molester who was permitted to stay on at the department for decades after being charged with abusing a boy.

"The one thing that a police officer dislikes probably the most is a dishonest police officer," Calderone said, noting that the contract "clarifies that we can never have an incident like Pat Rose in the future."

In 2022, Rose pleaded guilty to child rape charges.

Officials say the new police contract — if approved by the City Council — will stop certain officers from returning to the department, even without being convicted of one of the named crimes.

Some activists argue the contract doesn’t meet community demands for reduced police spending. Fatema Ahmad, head of the Massachusetts-based Muslim Justice League, in an email said, "It is not clear if this contract has eliminated any of the barriers that the mayor and City Council have pointed to every year when faced with demands to decrease the police budget."

Wu noted the City Council has two meetings remaining this year, and urged councilors to act on the new police contract before the new year.

WBUR's Ally Jarmanning contributed to this report.