Minority Officers Group Calls On Boston Police Commissioner To Resign

Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis is under fire over treatment of minority officers. The Massachusetts Association of Minority Law Enforcement Officers has voted no confidence in Davis and asked him to resign, saying Davis gives greater punishment to officers of color than their white counterparts.

One of the cases that the non-profit cites is the recent demotion of Jerome Hall-Brewster. He was stripped of his detective's badge last week for allegedly not following up on a 2012 assault linked to Edwin Alemany — a man now charged with killing South Boston resident Amy Lord last month.

The vote is the latest in a long history of tensions in the Police Department over minority officers, which includes two federal lawsuits over the police promotion exam, which critics claim is discriminatory because black and Hispanic applicants historically do not score as well as white and Asian test takers.

In 2012, Davis announced the department would spend $2.2 million to replace the promotions exam with a new test, hoping to better select qualified officers and increase diversity in the upper ranks.

Larry Ellison, president of the Massachusetts Association of Minority Law Enforcement Officers.

Note: Police Commissioner Ed Davis did not respond to multiple requests for an interview or statement. In the past, he has denied that there is unfair or unequal treatment of police officers based on color and that diversity is an important issue.