ARLINGTON, Mass. — A statewide nonprofit that advocates for police retracted a trio of columns it published in its newsletter, penned by an Arlington police officer, that rejected police tactics like “de-escalation” and called for violence against offenders, according to the Arlington Advocate.
“I sincerely believe that the troubling views expressed in the newsletter do not reflect the values of our Town, our hard-working and compassionate police department, or our residents,” state Sen. Cindy Friedman said in a statement. “I strongly support the decision by Police Chief Fred Ryan to immediately relieve Lieutenant Pedrini of his police duties. Such inflammatory rhetoric and behavior has absolutely no place in our police force or our community.”