[fscpd907]

State Police hazing probed
By Michele McPhee and Maggie Mulvihill / Boston Herald
Thursday, September 15, 2005

A Massachusetts State Police instructor is under investigation for allegedly forcing recruits' heads into dirty toilets in a hazing ritual that was kept under wraps until a female major complained to top brass, sources said.
"The instructor put his boot on the backs of their heads," said one source. "People complained, but their complaints were never taken seriously."
Lt. Sharon Costine, a state police spokeswoman, confirmed yesterday that the internal probe is underway but declined to elaborate.
"We will conduct a full and thorough investigation and take whatever action is deemed warranted," Costine said in a written statement.
The alleged hazing took place at the state police academy in New Braintree, where 174 aspiring troopers have been training since late June. A number of recruits already have dropped out of the grueling 25-week program, one trooper said. The remaining trainees are due to graduate in December.
Academy rules prohibit officers from using "unprofessional language or behavior."

 

[NH Cop]

WOW, I was lucky I only had to stand in a cold water shower.

 

[bbelichick]

In 1995, a state appeals court judge ruled the state's anti-hazing law did not apply to the academy, after one recruit filed a lawsuit claiming she was denied water and medication during a serious bout with pneumonia while training at the academy.
``I went through absolute torture,'' Carol Perkins, 47, of Sterling said yesterday. ``It gets barbaric in there.'

Perkins, a single mother of two small boys, said she did not appeal the decision because the litigation grew too expensive, but she feared if she stayed in the punishing program, she would end up dead.
``I was so scared. It was like, `What am I in for?' '' she said. ``I often wonder what would have happened, but I feared what happened in Agawam and how far that kid was pushed.''
Cadet Timothy Shepard, 25, died in November 1988, six weeks after collapsing from heat stroke during training at a state police training academy in Agawam.
Fifteen other cadets in the same class suffered severe kidney ailments, and state police banned punitive exercise during training. After a lengthy probe, then Attorney General James M. Shannon declined to file criminal charges against instructors at Agawam, though he labeled the episode ``state government at its worst.''

==========================================================================

I never saw ANY of that crap going on, and believe me I would know. You can't live in close quarters with people and not know.

As far as the female who says it was "hell" and she thought she would die, etc...What a WEAK, OVERDRAMATIC LOSER. It's a good thing she didn't get on the job. As hard as it was, I never felt like I would die. Challenging, tough, etc...but "fearing she would end up dead?"or "barbaric" RIDICULOUS.

 

[Pvt. Cowboy]

I would certainly take a swift boot in the ass, as well as a little "swirly" action to get on the job...

Isn't a little psychological conditioning the type of stuff that is needed to determine who is going to make it, and who's not... I think it was you, BBelichick, who once posted that the "tough" training is essential to teach someone the necessary survival skills that is sometimes required on the job... i.e. there was some discussion on this board, I believe under the SPA sub-forum that got deleted during the vBulletin switch, regarding a confrontation between a Trooper, and a drunken 300lb *******, and the point of the post was that the Trooper won, whether it was because of conditioning, superior defense tactics, or simply a "NO QUIT" attitude. Isn't that the kind of mentality that we want from those that protect us??

I personally, would certainly want a Trooper on the road who can withstand a drill instructor putting their head in a john, only because I know that they have the MENTAL TOUGHNESS to provide the necessary protection that is required in the Commonwealth.

Just my two cents...

 

[Ptlm.Shamrock147]

My neighbor is a State Trooper and hes also an Instuctor at the SPA. Everyone who does their homework before they go in knows its pretty much Parris Island for close to 6 months. Massachusetts has a rep. to be one of toughest academys in the country. If you can't take a hazing, how the hell are you gonna act when the 3 guys you just pulled over decide they don't want to go back to jail, and want to fight with you. Kind of pisses me off to see people that lady get the shot at MSP and complain and the 10000 others who would be awesome troopers home checking the mail box everyday to see if the the letter arrived. And yes I check the mailbox EVERYDAY, right after my few miles of running... just in case.........Sorry if I offended anyone... just my thoughts.

 

[bbelichick]

I agree with pushing people to their physical and mental limits...But abusing people isn't necessary.

If this is a true story, the DI who did it is a selfish jerk.

IF being the operative word.

 

[jackryan]

That will be the day.... someone puts their boot on the back of my head and tries to force my head into a dirty toilet...trooper or no trooper

State Police hazing probed
By Michele McPhee and Maggie Mulvihill / Boston Herald
Thursday, September 15, 2005

A Massachusetts State Police instructor is under investigation for allegedly forcing recruits' heads into dirty toilets in a hazing ritual that was kept under wraps until a female major complained to top brass, sources said.
"The instructor put his boot on the backs of their heads," said one source. "People complained, but their complaints were never taken seriously."
Lt. Sharon Costine, a state police spokeswoman, confirmed yesterday that the internal probe is underway but declined to elaborate.
"We will conduct a full and thorough investigation and take whatever action is deemed warranted," Costine said in a written statement.
The alleged hazing took place at the state police academy in New Braintree, where 174 aspiring troopers have been training since late June. A number of recruits already have dropped out of the grueling 25-week program, one trooper said. The remaining trainees are due to graduate in December.
Academy rules prohibit officers from using "unprofessional language or behavior."

 

[stubrie]

Killjoy-

Maybe you can fill us all in on what happened.
This may be a bad situation for those involved.
Is there a criminal statute for this ??
Sued individually??
This of course if proven to be true.
I wonder if this has happened before.....and more people make allegations.....

 

[popo]

It was just a matter of time before this was going to come out. Here you have an Academy in the middle of nowhere, with no supervision and bunch of young troopers that were once violated too and so the chain of violence just gets passed on. It is the same thing that happens to most sex offenders, raped when they were young and now preying on the young themselves. I hope they have inspectors from outside the MSP overseeing and videotaping the whole academy.

 

[bbelichick]

You are a MORON. "No supervision"? Have you been there? There are Brass EVERYWHERE.

This kind of thing happens everywhere. It will be dealt with. It wasn't an institutional thing, I know people in the last 6 classes and I haven't heard anything like this.

 

[nirtallica]

:2up:

It was just a matter of time before this was going to come out. Here you have an Academy in the middle of nowhere, with no supervision and bunch of young troopers that were once violated too and so the chain of violence just gets passed on. It is the same thing that happens to most sex offenders, raped when they were young and now preying on the young themselves. I hope they have inspectors from outside the MSP overseeing and videotaping the whole academy.

Do you have some seriuous issues or what? I think you need some serious counseling.:-k

 

[popo]

This kind of thing happens everywhere

I don't remember anyone putting their boot on my back and pushing my head in a dirty toilet at the MPOC academy or Parris Island. Maybe that's the new curriculum now.

I knew it would stir the pot but seriously, maybe it's time to have some prior military people as DIs there and not some kid that went through an RTT 2 classes ago and after attending a 40hr DI class, he's the shit. It takes years of constant training as a DI to make a good DI. I :FM::mrgreen:

 

[bbelichick]

I don't remember anyone putting their boot on my back and pushing my head in a dirty toilet at the MPOC academy or Parris Island. Maybe that's the new curriculum now.

I knew it would stir the pot but seriously, maybe it's time to have some prior military people as DIs there and not some kid that went through an RTT 2 classes ago and after attending a 40hr DI class, he's the shit. It takes years of constant training as a DI to make a good DI. I :FM::mrgreen:

And like I said, no one EVER did anything like that to me either. That doesn't mean it never happened at Parris Island or the MPOC. And I am quite sure that you don't know the military background of the DI's.

 

[Guest]

Hazing is not common place at the SPA. Yea, it is tough mentally and physically, but nothing to get Amnesty International up in a fuss about. If one DI screwed up, and the incident turns out to be true, then that ONE DI will be dealt with. Any organization/institution will have one or two crazy apples. The problem here is that every anti-police liberal and any mentally weak trainee that quit will want to punish the MSP and use this as an excuse. They will try to make the SPA a liberal cake walk and try to further water down the toughness of the State Police.

 

[SinePari]

It is the same thing that happens to most sex offenders, raped when they were young and now preying on the young themselves.

Soooooo....are you saying SPA DIs are the same as rapists? That's pretty ignorant.

It must have been a slow day in Iraq (only a few hundred died) and the hurricane victims aren't the top story any more either, for this to be front page news. It's easy to find a few QUITTERS from previous classes and interview them to emelish the story more and more.

 

[ponyboy]

A boot on the back of someones head into a toilet is a bit much,but if it was me I would honestly take it,however I would make a mental note of the name of the DI and as soon as I graduated and made it through my probation said DI would be getting a visit from me.:evil:

 

[nirtallica]

[-( Well 79th RTT, get ready for an "kindler and gentiler" academy once the weak, liberal SP hating reps and senators start looking into this. :musicboo:

 

[Ptlm.Shamrock147]

I was thinking the exact same thing.....

 

[CenterMass]

The SPA is suppose to be like Vegas - What happens there, stays there...

 

[Pvt. Cowboy]

The SPA is suppose to be like Vegas - What happens there, stays there...

Well put!!

Thinking about a "kinder and gentler" academy, though it would be easier... I can't say that's what I would want to go through... I want the same blood sweat and tears academy that every other Trooper had to go through... pay my dues the exact same way... call me crazy but that only seems fair...