Two Boston city councilors are pressing the police commissioner to conduct an investigation into a BPD radio channel breakdown that occurred at a “critical” time when overnight violence was breaking out in the aftermath of the Dominican Festival.
Councilors Erin Murphy and Ed Flynn wrote to BPD Commissioner Michael Cox on Monday, after the city’s largest police union flagged an “inexplicable” 30-minute blackout to the main radio channel used for the large-scale Dorchester festival the night before.
“Last night’s violence at Franklin Park, combined with the breakdown of the Boston Police Department’s radio system, demands immediate attention and accountability,” Murphy and Flynn wrote. “While officers were working to keep the crowd safe following the Dominican Festival, five people were shot.
“At the same time, the department’s main radio channel failed for nearly 30 minutes, forcing officers to respond to an active shooting without reliable communication tools. As city councilors, we are deeply concerned that public safety systems failed at such a critical moment.”
The councilors said the communication breakdown is symptomatic of a broader problem of “underinvestment in essential tools” needed by first responders to do their jobs effectively and called for a full police investigation into the matter.
“Boston officers deserve the tools and support they need to protect our neighborhoods, and our residents deserve the assurance that public safety systems will not fail in moments of crisis,” Murphy and Flynn wrote.
The councilors’ letter appears to be keying off a social media post from the city’s largest police union, the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association, that flagged the radio breakdown earlier on Monday.
Sharing a screenshot of a news headline on X that highlighted a “violent night in Boston” with “four shootings and a stabbing under investigation,” the BPPA mentioned how the communication failure exacerbated a difficult situation for its membership, with resources already stretched thin for a widely attended festival.
“If last night’s violence wasn’t bad enough, officers had to overcome yet another inexplicable failure of the BPD Communications Division as the main radio channel used for the festival went dark for close to 30 minutes before it was restored,” the BPPA wrote. “Our officers deserve better.
“More often than not, large-scale festivals — spreading already too thin police resources — lead to violence,” the BPPA post continued. “Yesterday’s Dominican Festival is the new example. Last night, four people were shot in less than two hours. Begging the question, when do we stop the insanity?”
The Boston Police Department provided details confirming the four overnight shootings and a stabbing, but didn’t immediately provide a response on the councilors’ letter to the commissioner.
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