Gordon T. Davis

Worcester MA  01604

Plaintiff in Pro per

 

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS

 

_____________________________

Gordon T. Davis                                      *     CASE No. 24CV40151

Plaintiff                                                   *  

v.                                                              *     Civil Rights Complaint pursuant to

City of Worcester Massachusetts      *      42 U.S.C. par. 1983 (non-prisoner)

Kathleen M. Toomey, City Councilor *       and Title 18, U.S.C. Sec. 24

Eric D. Batista, City Manager               *

Michael E. Traynor, City Solicitor        *     No Jury Trial

Defendants                                               *

 

 

•                   I. JURISDICTION 

 

This court has jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. Section 1331 and 28 U.S.C. Section 1343. Federal question jurisdiction arises pursuant to 42 U.S.C. section 1983.

 

 

•                   II. VENUE

 

The Venue is proper pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Section 1391 because the City of Worcester is in Massachusetts and the Plaintiff is a resident of the City of Worcester Massachusetts.

 

•                   III. PARTIES

 

Plaintiff

The Plaintiff’s name is Gordon T. Davis (Davis). His residence is 416 Lake Ave. Worcester MA 01604. The Plaintiff is Black and has lived in the Black community for over fifty-six (56) years.

 

Defendants

City of Worcester MA, 455 Main St. Worcester MA 01608. This defendant is being sued in its official capacity as a political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

 

Kathleen M. Toomey (Toomey), works at City Council 455 Main St., Worcester, MA 01608. This defendant is being sued in her official capacity. Councilor Toomey is a City councilor on the Worcester City Council.

 

Eric D. Batista (Batista) works as City Manager, 455 Main St. Worcester MA 01608. This defendant is being sued in his official capacity.

 

Michael E. Traynor, works as City Solicitor, 455 Main St. Worcester MA 01608. Traynor is being sued in his official capacity

 

•                   IV. Statement OF FACTS

 

1.     In 2022 the City hired a firm to audit the Worcester Police Department. The audit was completed in 2023.  The audit report showed that the Worcester Police Department is systemically racist in the number of arrests made in the Black and Latino communities which are disproportionately higher than in comparator communities. (Exhibit A)

2.     Worcester Police Chief, Soucier, admitted that the Systemic Racism described in the report is harming the Black and Latino individuals and communities.  (Exhibit A)

3.     Davis petitioned that the City Council request (order) the City Manager Batista to investigate and fix the Systematic Racism found in the City. The City Council filed Davis’s Petition. A filed petition means the City Council took no action regarding requesting City Manager Batista to investigate the Systemic Racism and fix violations of Civil Rights. (Exhibit B)

4.     The City Manager Batista has ignored Davis’ request for community hearings on the issue and fix the violations of Civil Rights. (Exhibit C)

 

5.     The City Manager has not given the police arrest records to the Worcester Commission for Human Rights. The Commission is responsible for investigation of Worcester Police arrest records. (Exhibit D)

6.     Davis has been ignored by the City Manager and the City Council in his petition that the City of Worcester investigate and fix the Systemic Racism that is harming people in the Black and Latino communities. Davis petitioned for a second time that the City Council itself to investigate and create a policy that would end the systemic Racism (Exhibit E)

This petition requested the City Council’s Standing Committee on

 Safety to investigate and fix the issues of Systemic Racism regarding the police arrest data. Councilor Toomey, stated in open meeting, that Davis’ petition was flawed and she wanted to table the petition.  Davis’ petition was not flawed, as the City Clerk helped in the wording of the petition. The City Council by majority vote approved Davis’ petition.  Councilor Toomey tabled (delayed) as an individual councilor Davis’ approved petition. (Exhibit E)

7.     Davis filed a third Petition saying that in accordance with City Council Rules his Petition tabled by Councilor Toomey should had been taken off the table in May 2024 and effectuated.  (Exhibit F).

8.     City Solicitor Traynor ignored black letter City Council rules and did not allow Davis’ third Petition to go to City Council, using the pretext that Councilor Toomey tabling of the Petion was not done as an individual councilor.  A reasonable fact-finder could conclude that City Solicitor knew a priori his ruling was in violation of City Council Rules.   (Exhibit G)

9.     This ruling by City Solicitor Traynor has been contradicted by the City Clerk who has written in several documents that Councilor Toomey tabled Davis’ Petition about the Public Safety Committee to investigate and fix the issues of Systemically Racist Civil Rights violations and was tabled under individual councilor privilege and can only be tabled for one week. (Exhibit G)

10. Defendant City Solicitor Traynor was involved in at least one other racist incident. The Diversity Officer wrote a report for the investigation of that incident. The City has refused to release the report.

 

V. Claims

Claim # 1

•         Plaintiff realleges and incorporates by reference all of the paragraphs above. (Paragraphs 1 through 10)

 

The Plaintiff has a claim under the United States Constitution Fourteenth Amendment, Equal Protection Clause and   42 U.S.C. par. 1983 

 

•         The above Civil Rights violation was committed by the Defendant City of Worcester Massachusetts. (Paragraphs 1 and 2)

 

 As a result of the above Civil Rights violations the Plaintiff was harmed in the following manner. The Plaintiff as a Black person is at greater risk of the being arrested than other Protected classes. The potential of increased risk of arrest is emotionally distressing. Such arrests are traumatic and costly to defend.  (Paragraph 2)

Joy Hope

 

Claim # 2

 

•        Plaintiff realleges and incorporates by reference all of the paragraphs above. (Paragraphs 1 through 10)

 

•        Plaintiff alleges that City Manager Batista actions are in violation of TITLE 18, U.S.C., SECTION 24. (Paragraphs 1,4 and 6)

 

 

Claim # 3

 

•        Plaintiff realleges and incorporates by reference all of the paragraphs above. (Paragraphs 1 through 10)

 

•        Plaintiff alleges that City Councilor Toomey ‘s action are in violation of TITLE 18, U.S.C., SECTION 24. (Paragraphs 7,8,9,10)

 

Claim # 4

 

•        Plaintiff realleges and incorporates by reference all of the paragraphs above. (Paragraphs 1 through 01)

 

•        Plaintiff alleges that City Solicitor ‘s actions are in violation of TITLE 18, U.S.C., SECTION 24. (Paragraphs 8, 9, 10)10)

 

 

VI. Request for Relief

 

Wherefore, the Plaintiff requests:

 

•       (Paragraphs (1 and 2),

That the City of Worcester Massachusetts be ordered to investigate by all means, including public hearings, the causes of the disproportional arrests of Black and Latino people by the Worcester police.  From this investigation a policy and practice are established that ends the Civil Rights violations.

 

•       (paragraphs (paragraphs 3 through 10))

That the respective Defendants Batista, Traynor, and Toomey are fined five-hundred ($500.00) Dollars and enjoined from blocking or delaying the investigation and correction of the civil rights violations.

 

December 2, 2024

 

 

Human Trafficking Awareness Day 2016

Human Trafficking

 

Outreach workers' discussion 

Monday January 11, 2016 was Human Trafficking Awareness Day. There was an event at City Hall Worcester to provide information and solutions to this issue.  It was not quite what I had expected as prostitution was included as a part of human trafficking. Human Trafficking is described by the United Nation as a crime against humanity.  The issue for Worcester is for the most part is prostitution.

The crime of human trafficking as defined by the United Nations goes well beyond prostitution.

“Trafficking in Persons as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs”

As a crime, human trafficking has the following elements:

The Act (What is done)

Recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons

 

The Means (How it is done)

Threat or use of force, coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, abuse of power or vulnerability, or giving payments or benefits to a person in control of the victim

 

The Purpose (Why it is done)

For the purpose of exploitation, which includes exploiting the prostitution of others, sexual exploitation, forced labor, slavery or similar practices and the removal of organs..

Captain Saucier

Captain Paul Saucier of the Worcester Police said that in 2015 the Worcester Police arrested 72 people for prostitution related violations. Of that number were 49 men. The Captain said that the policy had changed from only arresting women to a policy of also arresting the men buying sex. The idea is to reduce the demand and to discourage men coming to Worcester to buy sex.

In 2014 the number of prostitutes arrested was 149; the number of men buying sex arrested by the Worcester Police was 15.  In 2013 the numbers were 176 arrests of prostitutes and 3 arrests of johns.

He also said that the Worcester Police was coordinating with the outreach workers from the several organizations with programs to help the prostitutes. Outreach workers accompany the Police on their monthly arrests of prostitutes and johns.

The outreach workers call people who leave the life of prostitution “survivors”. The Woo Church on Main St., the YWCA, and UMass Hospital have services for the survivors. These organizations and others form the Worcester Alliance of Anti-Sexual Exploitation (WAASE). The members of the Alliance are the following:

Adcare Hospital

AIDS Project Worcester

Ascentria Care Alliance (formerly Lutheran Social Services of New England)

City of Worcester Division of Public Health (WDPH)

City of Worcester Office of Human Rights

City of Worcester Police Department (WPD)

Community Legal Aid

Community Healthlink (CHL)

Jeremiah’s Inn

New England Dream Center

Pathways for Change

RIA House

Southeast Asian Coalition

South Middlesex Opportunity Council

Spectrum Health Systems

The Woo Church

Worcester County Food Bank

YWCA of Central Massachusetts

 

Ms. Bell

Nicole Bell, an outreach worker and survivor, spoke at the Human Trafficking Awareness Day event. She told her story of how she came to Worcester for treatment, but then was lured into a life of prostitution. While a prostitute she was banned from the grounds of Clark University. As an outreach worker, Ms. Bell now has taken classes at Clark University. She was clearly happy with this positive reversal.

Ms. Bell works with Ms. Athena Haddon, program director at Everyday Miracles Peer Recovery Center located at UMass Hospital Campus. Ms. Bell also works with Lora Glen at the Woo Church, where a support group of survivors meet.

Ms. Amarely Gutierrez Oliver, Director of Domestic Violence Services, Daybreak/YWCA, in an electronic interview had these comments about how people especially women are lured or forced into prostitution.

“The term “sexual exploitation” means: any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power, or trust, for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to, profiting monetarily, socially or politically from the sexual exploitation of another. Based on this definition it provides some ideas of how survivors are lured into this work. In the training The Ray of light it shows the following methods of recruitment:

·        Love Con ~ he is starting a relationship where she believes she has met the man of her dreams (usually older) who makes promises and poses as her boyfriend. His goal is to make her feel indebted to him and feel guilty if she ever questions his motives

 

·        Other examples of other methods of recruitment (e.g., A teenager is recruited by another girl in a homeless youth drop-in center, who has been sent there by her pimp to recruit other girls)

·        The sole use of physical force (kidnapping, etc.) is not a primary method of recruitment, although it does happen. Physical force is more often used in the context of a violent relationship that is coercive in many other psychological ways as well.

 

·        Grooming” (gradual entry) May start with compliments, watching pornography, sexual experimentation, Stripping (for trafficker, in clubs, for other men) and posing for semi-nude or nude photos, Massage with “happy endings”, Prostitution, Substances to block awareness and resistance

 

 

·        “Breaking down” initiation (more abrupt), Removal from supports and familiar surroundings, Verbal and emotional abuse

 

·        Physical abuse, Rape or gang rape: Often a combination of the two” 

 

Ms, LeBoeuf

When asked why is Main South has a concentration of prostitution, there was no clear answer. Although Ms.Heidi Sue LeBoeuf, MSW, LSW-Director of Counseling, Pathways for Change, Inc, gave this opinion,

“This has been the case for as long as I can recall.   I am unsure if there has ever been research into this, regardless of where we are seeing the majority of sexually exploited individuals, that is just one facet of a neighborhood and Worcester has so much to offer.  This is why the work WAASE is doing is so vital.  The goal is not just about building systems for ending crime, but supporting those being victimized, like sexually exploited women.  Ensuring comprehensive and multifaceted interventions is what will help individuals get on the path to recovery and make Worcester an unwelcomed place for sex exploitation.”

Captain Saucier indicated that prostitution was growing concern on the Craigslist and social media.

A question of male prostitution brought this response from Ms., LeBoeuf,

“Sexual exploitation does not discriminate based on gender.  Those who are being sexually exploited in Worcester include all genders.  Much of the work has initially focused on female survivors, but that is shifting.  The work being done through WAASE in developing supportive interventions will benefit all survivors, regardless of gender.”

Male prostitution is an issue for which many in Worcester are not yet able to address.      

   

Although there seems also to be a lack of quantifiable evidence of the success rates for the survivors, the number of survivors reached by WAASE was over 100 between December 2014 and November 2015

.

It is estimated that over 900 sex trafficking incidents had taken place in Suffolk County alone. Many of the victims are minors. The magnitude of the problem could be inferred from this number.

The work against Human Trafficking is also being done in the State legislature where a bill is making its way through committees. The new law would criminalize the actions of anyone who entices, recruits, harbors or transports anyone for the purpose of commercial sexual activity. It also includes a “safe harbor” provision for people under 18 charged under the state’s prostitution statutes.

Hopefully there will be an end to Human Trafficking and exploitation of every kind. We should applaud those working to achieve these ends.

Report from November 18, 2015 Meeting

Worcester Is Hiding Its Policy on Police in Schools

A group of parents, students, and activists met on November 18, 2015 to discuss the City of Worcester’s policy on the duties of police officers in public schools. Earlier in the year the City Council voted to put a full time police officer in each of the five Worcester Public High Schools.  The Worcester Public Schools and the Worcester Police Department are required by statute to define the policy regarding police in schools in a document called a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). So far no one from the City, not the Superintendent, not the Mayor, not the City Manager, or the Police Chief has responded to requests for the MOU.

During the discussion several people said that because the policy of full time police in schools was implemented in a panic based on false assertions that the schools were unsafe, there was no time to think through the legal requirements. The required MOU likely does not comply with State laws at this time. Mr. Pezzella, public safety liaison for the Worcester Public school, said in October 2015 that the current MOU is outdated and needs revision.

The Mass. Human Right Commission (MHRC), a nongovernmental organization, functioned as the umbrella from which the people in the meeting will advocate for justice for the students and parent. Although not officially representing their respective organizations, there were people from the NAACP, an UU Church, Progressive Labor Party, a Latino group, a student group, and a social agency.

Ruth Rodriguez, a local activist, gave background to the “school to jail pipeline”. She said that some in the corporate world were financing programs designed to have schools fail. The children would then be more at risk for incarceration and poverty.  She stated that Latino children are most adversely affected by suspensions and expulsions, although every child in poverty was at risk.

Charter school, Ms. Rodriguez is also against charter schools for siphoning resources from public schools.

Gwen Davis, a Worcester resident, whose children went to North High School, said that cops in the school are a part of the school to prison pipeline and these are some of the issues of the BlackLives Matter civil rights movement.

Dr, Sonya Conner, a professor at Worcester State, said she thought that the way the City Council was able to ram through the policy of cops in the schools was to divide the teachers from the students. She thought that the group should reach out to the teacher’s union on this issue.

Another speaker said that the ACLU in Boston has helped with the effort regarding the MOU by providing outlines and guidance for the writing of MOU.

The guidelines from the ACLU indicated that

1. Police should not be used in any school discipline as these are covered by Chapter 222 of the Acts of 2012 and not the criminal statutes.

2. The police should be trained in childhood education, especially adolescent behavior.

3. The police in the school should receive training in disabilities accommodations for children.

4. There should no arrests on campus for any reason other than public safety emergencies.

The MHRC has been collecting signature on a petition to City Council and the City School Committee regarding the City’s policy of police in schools and planned to present the petition to City Council and the City School Committee after Thanksgiving.

The group also made plans to write to the Parent Associations of the high and middle schools to make a presentation about the MOU and the rights of parents and students found in Chapter 222. Another suggestion was to leaflet the students at the City high schools with hopes of getting the information to parents.

There is no apparent reason why the City is hiding its MOU, except that it wants to keep the students, parents, and the public ignorant of its policy or its lack of policy. This policy information is in the public domain.  Let us hope the City authorities respond in a positive way to this effort that can only help all concerned, especially the children, and reduced the City’s liability exposure.