Worcester, MA (January 30, 2012) - It is unfortunate for the community that the Worcester Telegram and Gazette continues to distort the facts and circumstances as they pertain to the Worcester Police Department. The most recent attempt by Clive McFarlane to compare the Worcester Police Department to the egregious allegations leveled against the East Haven, Connecticut police department is outrageous and a disservice to the community.

As reported in the media, several East Haven police officers were indicted by the US Attorney for a "pattern of egregious behavior... by a cancerous cadre of officers who routinely deprived East Haven residents — particularly members of the Hispanic community of their civil rights."

The Worcester Police Department strongly condemns the actions of police officers who violate the public trust. We investigate all complaints, including anonymous and third party, made against our officers. The internal investigations are thorough, supervised by command staff, and are conducted in conformance with due process. The department does not tolerate the type of behavior alleged in the East Haven indictments. The Worcester Police Department has arrested, terminated and suspended police officers when complaints have been sustained and witnesses have cooperated.

The Worcester Police Department works collaboratively with members of the community to improve relations and develop trust with the Hispanic population. We have developed a number of outreach programs that target at risk youth, including Hispanic youth, through our work with the Boy's and Girls Club, the Worcester Youth Center, the Clergy-Police Partnership, our summer camp program, our mentoring program and the annual youth summit.

The Worcester community deserves quality policing as well as fair, honest and unbiased reporting. Unfortunately, the community gets the former but not the latter.

There will be no new additional information released at this time.