FILED ON: 6/17/2021

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2479

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Second General Court
(2021-2022)

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An Act authorizing the city of Gloucester to appoint retired police officers as special police officers.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. The mayor of the city of Gloucester may appoint, as the mayor deems necessary, retired Gloucester police officers as special police officers to perform police details or any duties arising therefrom or during the course of police detail work, whether or not related to the detail work. The mayor shall have sole discretion to appoint retired Gloucester police officers as special police officers. The police chief of the city shall establish all Gloucester police department rules, procedures and polices concerning such appointments. The mayor shall appoint retired Gloucester police officers who served as regular Gloucester police officers and are retired based on superannuation. No retired police officer shall be appointed under this act as a special police officer if that officer has been retired for more than 4½ years. The special police officers shall not be subject to the same maximum age restrictions as applied to regular Gloucester police officers under chapter 32 of the General Laws, but shall not be eligible to serve as special police officers if they have reached the age of 70. Prior to appointment under this act, a retired Gloucester police officer shall pass a medical examination by a physician or other certified professional chosen, or agreed to, by the department to determine whether the retired Gloucester police officer is capable of performing the essential duties of a special police officer under this act, the cost of which shall be borne by the retired Gloucester police officer.

SECTION 2. Special police officers appointed under this act shall not be subject to chapter 31 of the General Laws, section 99A of chapter 41 of the General Laws or chapter 150E of the General Laws.

SECTION 3. Special police officers appointed under this act shall, when performing the duties under section 1, have the same power to make arrests and perform other police functions as regular police officers of the city of Gloucester.

SECTION 4. Special police officers appointed under this act shall be appointed for a 1-year term, subject to renewal at the mayor's discretion; provided, however, that special police officers shall be subject to suspension or removal by the police chief with the approval of the mayor at any time. All benefits afforded to special police officers appointed under this act shall terminate upon the conclusion of the employment term. A special police officer's appointment shall automatically terminate upon the officer's seventieth birthday.

SECTION 5. Special police officers appointed under this act shall be subject to the rules, regulations, policies, procedures and requirements that the police chief of the city of Gloucester may impose from time to time, including, but not limited to, pay rates for special police officers, restrictions on the type of detail assignments, requirements regarding medical examinations to determine continuing capability to perform the duties of a special police officer, requirements for training, requirements for firearms licensing and qualifications, requirements for maintaining a medical or liability insurance policy and requirements regarding uniforms and equipment. The police chief may set a schedule of fees associated with the costs of training, medical examinations, equipment, uniforms and any other requirements deemed necessary by the police chief that shall be paid by the special police officer appointed under this act. Special police officers appointed under this act shall not be subject to section 96B of chapter 41 of the General Laws.

SECTION 6. Special police officers appointed under this act shall be sworn in by the city clerk for the city of Gloucester at the direction of the mayor of the city.

SECTION 7. Special police officers appointed under this act shall be subject to sections 100 and 111F of chapter 41 of the General Laws. The amount payable under said section 111F of said chapter 41 shall be calculated by averaging the amount earned over the prior 52 weeks as a special police officer working police details, or averaged over such lesser period of time for any officer designated as a special police officer working police details, or averaged over such lesser period of time for any officer designated as a special police officer less than 52 weeks before the incapacity. In no event shall payment under said section 111F of said chapter 41 exceed, in any calendar year, the limitation on earning contained in paragraph (b) of section 91 of chapter 32 of the General Laws. Payment under said section 111F of said chapter 41 shall terminate in accordance with said section 111F of said chapter 41or at the conclusion of the employment term, whichever occurs sooner. Special police officers appointed under this act shall not be subject to sections 85H or 85H1/2 of said chapter 32, nor eligible for any benefits pursuant thereto.

SECTION 8. Appointment as a special police officer shall not entitle that special police officer to assignment to any detail.

SECTION 9. Retired Gloucester police officers serving as special police officers under this act shall be subject to the limitation on hours worked and to earnings restrictions as provided in paragraph (b) of section 91 of chapter 32 of the General Laws.

SECTION 10. This act shall take effect upon its passage.