© 2025 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY
WEDW-FM · WNPR · WPKT · WRLI-FM
Public Files Contact · ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Boston Mayor Declares Racism A Public Health Crisis

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh talks during a news conference in March. Walsh declared racism a public health crisis in Boston on Friday.
Michael Dwyer
/
AP
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh talks during a news conference in March. Walsh declared racism a public health crisis in Boston on Friday.

Mayor Marty Walsh on Friday declared racism a public health crisis in Boston. To tackle the emergency, Walsh said he will reallocate $3 million of the department's overtime budget to public health. Walsh said the decision comes after he listened to Black people — both in the Black Lives Matter movement and in his life — who shared with him "how racism shapes lives and hurts communities."

The transfer of $3 million from the city's police department to public health accounts for less than 1% of the Boston police's annual $414 million budget.

"We're determined to accelerate our work towards systemic change," Walsh said during a media conference. "What I'm announcing today is the beginning."

The mayor also said he would propose transferring an additional $9 million from the police department's overtime budget to initiatives around housing and counseling, as well as support for businesses owned by women and people of color, for a total of $12 million in changes to the overtime budget.

Walsh said he will also form a new task force to review, among other things, police use-of-force policies.

In response to Walsh's announcement, Boston Police Commissioner William Gross said his officers wear "too many hats anyway" and that if the community shares responsibility, there will naturally be less of a need to pay cops overtime.

"A child doesn't want to go to school, you call the Boston police; a child's on the bus being unruly, you call the Boston police; there's an emotionally disturbed person in a home, you call the Boston police," Gross said. "How many hats do you want us to wear?"

Walsh also announced that the department will no longer subject officers to a scientifically unsound hair test that has been discredited in studies, and courts have ruled disproportionately affect people of color. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial court last year ruled in favor of a Boston cadet who was bypassed by the department after taking the hair test.

Walsh said he will also form a new task force to review, among other things, police use-of-force policies.

Some Boston protesters say it isn't enough.

"The main reason why the protests are happening is for the demand of the prosecution of police," said Brock Satter, with Mass Action Against Police Brutality.

While he said the money being transferred from BPD to the community is "a pittance," he did say it was a step in the right direction.

"Keep it coming," he said. "They can defund all they want, but if they don't punish police for the crimes they commit, police are just going to keep committing crimes."

Massachusetts Governor Charles Baker declined to say whether he would consider shifting the state police overtime budget in the same way Walsh has committed to doing in Boston. "I'm not a big believer, at the end of the day, that the right way to solve a number of problems is to so-called 'defund the police.'" Baker said he does believe in accountability and transparency.

With additional reporting from WBUR's Ally Jarmanning, Jack Mitchell and Lisa Creamer

Copyright 2020 WBUR

Quincy J. Walters is a junior at USF, majoring in English with a concentration in creative writing. His interest in journalism spurred from the desire to convey compelling narratives. He has written for USF’s student paper, The Oracle and is currently the videographer for Creative Pinellas. If he’s not listening to NPR, he’s probably listening to Randy Newman.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.