Mini warmup Wednesday, but it will be fleeting. Breezes make it feel chilly, and the sun will dart in and out of the clouds. Things get a little bumpy as we move through the evening and a vigorous cold front approaches.
The front is supported by so…
Massachusetts
Brockton High School principal reports progress combating violence
School leaders in Brockton, Massachusetts, struck an optimistic tone at a Tuesday night meeting about progress in curbing student violence.
After weeks of discussions on how to deal with violence at Brockton High School — including the state denying some school committee members’ request for National Guard assistance — new safety policies are in effect, and morale is improving.
Police in Brockton has been working with the school committee to establish a safer setting. A representative from the Brockton Police Department said at the meeting that while fights are still occurring, they seem to be trending downward.
Among the policy changes are bag checks with metal detectors and unoccupied classrooms being secured. Former Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis and his team will also work with the school to improve security.
“I’d like to thank our teaching staff, who’s doing an outstanding job, — I’m not just saying it for the TV cameras and the such,” Brockton High School Principal Kevin McCaskill said during the meeting. “They come to work every single day, we’re seeing an increase in teacher attendance.”
“Definitely, it’s very different,” one student told NBC10 Boston. “It’s sort of calming down a little bit.”
“It feels great, you know, but again, we still have work to do,” McCaskill said. “We are, in no way, shape and form, the school that we need to be. So if we continuously work hard, come in with our hard hats on every single day to provide the best possible outcomes for our students, we will continue to do that.”
3rd teen arrested in fatal shooting of high school student in Fall River
A third teenager is facing charges in the deadly shooting of a high school student last week in Fall River, Massachusetts.
Police responded to Rock Street Thursday morning around 11:40 a.m. Thursday, finding 18-year-old Colus Jamal Mills-Good of Fa…
Charlestown student-athletes celebrate Division 3 boys basketball title
A high school basketball team in Boston’s Charlestown neighborhood is celebrating after winning a championship this weekend.
The Charlestown High School Townies walked away with the MIAA Division 3 boys basketball title after a thrilling vict…
Federal lawsuit moving forward after kids removed from Waltham home at 1 a.m.
A couple whose children were removed from their home in the middle of the night has cleared a legal hurdle in their federal lawsuit against a handful of Massachusetts Department of Children and Families employees and Waltham police officers for violating their civil rights.
Josh Sabey and Sarah Perkins first shared their story with the NBC10 Boston Investigators in September 2022.
“What’s at stake here are these core constitutional protections,” said Daniel Woislaw, an attorney at Pacific Legal Foundation, the nonprofit firm representing the family. “What the city has done and what the officers did is they came to the house and they threatened to break in and take the children away. Without a court order. Without an emergency. And without, really, any evidence at all of child abuse.”
The government agencies had filed motions to dismiss the case, arguing the public workers were protected by qualified immunity. However, Judge Patti Saris determined the case should proceed.
“It’s a big victory to get past this hurdle and try to protect people from government overreach,” Sabey told us.
The ordeal for the parents started in July 2022, when they took their 4-month-old son, Cal, to the hospital with a high fever. Tests by doctors revealed an almost-healed rib fracture.
The parents had no explanation for Cal’s injury, triggering health care workers to notify DCF. Perkins stayed at the hospital as doctors performed more tests and social workers questioned her about the circumstances.
Health care workers who specialize in child abuse told NBC10 Boston that certain injuries in babies — including broken ribs — immediately raise suspicion and can trigger an in-depth evaluation. Doctors are required by law to report suspicions of child abuse or neglect to DCF.
After hours of scrutiny and an overnight stay at Newton-Wellesley Hospital, the mother left with her child.
The family thought the nightmare was over — until unexpected visitors arrived at their front door at 1 a.m.
Police and DCF workers were there to make an emergency removal of the two children. They did not provide any paperwork to the parents that justified the drastic decision.
Cellphone video of the incident captured 3-year-old Clarence screaming in fear about leaving with strangers in the middle of the night.
The lawsuit alleges several constitutional violations, including unlawful search and seizure and deprivation of parental rights without due process. It says the initial DCF investigation turned up no evidence of domestic abuse, no police calls to the parents’ home, no evidence of substance abuse, and no concerns from the pediatrician who had regularly seen both boys.
We reached out to the City of Waltham and DCF about the latest legal development with the case. A DCF spokesperson said the agency doesn’t comment on pending legislation, and we have not yet received a response from the City of Waltham.
Following the original NBC10 Boston investigation, a Massachusetts state lawmaker proposed another layer of oversight before DCF workers can make an emergency removal of children.
The legislation filed by Rep. Joan Meschino, D-Plymouth, would require DCF workers to get them to sign off before emergency removals are made during hours when courthouses are closed, similar to a search warrant or restraining order.
Sabey and Perkins moved to Idaho with their kids after the DCF investigation was closed. The parents say they are continuing the fight to change the system.
“We’ve had, like, hundreds of families now reach out to us and tell us their stories,” said Perkins. “I just feel so fortunate that we’re in a position to be able to do something, to try to enforce basic constitutional protections for families that people can’t come to their house without paperwork and take their children.”
and Families cannot confirm or deny whether or not a family is involved with DCF.”
Have a tip for the NBC10 Boston Investigators? Email us at tips@nbcboston.com.
More on the Massachusetts DCF
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Irish firefighter accused of raping woman at Boston hotel
A firefighter from Ireland is behind bars in Massachusetts, accused of raping a woman at a Boston hotel last week.
Police say Terrence Crosbie was visiting with the Dublin Fire Brigade to march in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, but the 37-year…
