The Jan. 27, 2025 Acton Select Board meeting included an extended discussion of a Jan. 20 incident during a snowstorm, involving the Acton police and an Acton resident. This report is in addition to the regular Select Board Notes column. This reporter attended the board meeting and viewed the body-worn camera footage that was recorded during the incident.
Early on the snowy morning of January 20, 2025, an Acton dispatcher received a call from a snowplow operator on the West Acton Boardwalk Campus School; the plow operator described an individual “walking around aimlessly, looking at the building, walking in circles, I don’t know if you want to check this out.” (quote from Acton Police Chief Jim Cogan’s memo).
After the sister of the individual involved contacted the Acton police, an incident review group including the police department, the town manager, and the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEl) director was assembled. Chief Cogan, Deputy Chief Douglas Sturniolo, and DEI Director Wanjiku Gachugi joined Town Manager John Mangiaratti at the Jan. 27 Select Board meeting.
At the Select Board meeting, Chief Cogan described the interaction between the first responding officer and the individual, a resident of Spruce Street. (Spruce Street is closely adjacent to the Boardwalk Campus.) The first police officer approached the individual and asked him (as a precaution) to take his hands out of his pockets. In response to the officer’s questions, the individual gave his name and residence information.
Chief Cogan said that a two-unit response to a night call is standard procedure. A second police officer arrived and advised the individual that the Boardwalk Campus is a no trespassing area at night. From Chief Cogan’s memo, “At this time, the shift supervisor arrived at the location and was advised that everything was all set and all officers left the location. The exchange lasted four minutes, from arriving on-scene to officers departing the area.”
The police report read as follows:
25-1307 0140:35 SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY Spoken to
Location/Address: [ACT P1397] SPRUCE ST
Narrative:
RESPONDED FOR A SUSPICIOUS MALE CALLED IN BY DPW PLOW DRIVER
Narrative:
MALE PARTY LIVES AT SPRUCE ST. JUST WALKING.
Many residents of Acton had read about the incident in posts on social media shared by the resident’s sister, Alia Melo-Layne, who described her brother as a “6-foot-tall, friendly, African American man.” She wrote, “…I believe anyone—regardless of their race—should be able to watch snowfall or go for a peaceful walk without being interrogated by the police. The request for ID felt less like a request and more like a demand, and the repeated instructions to take his hands out of his pockets were demeaning…” Ms. Melo-Layne asked readers to join her in requesting that the incident be put on the agenda for the upcoming Select Board meeting. She later added to her post, expressing gratitude for all the support (“My heart is full”) and stating that the incident had been added to the Jan. 27 agenda.
“The Acton Police Department was called by a plow operator to respond to a location to check on a person walking late at night in a snowstorm,” Chief Cogan said at the meeting. “The department was required to respond, and the officers appeared to be polite, professional and courteous to the resident. No force was used, and no threatening language was used.
“I understand that every police action and interaction can be interpreted differently by those involved. We regularly train to improve our officers’ ability to engage in a positive and cordial manner with community members in a way that fosters trust and understanding.”
Chief Cogan read from his memo, and described the variety of incidents that the Acton police have dealt with in West Acton, ranging from harmless interactions to arrests for possession of stolen property and arrests of individuals with multiple outstanding warrants.
In introducing the discussion, Town Manager John Mangiaratti said, “We acknowledge that there is a troubling history of interactions between the police and people of color in our country and … in our community … we understand it’ll take time to mend that history but I feel strongly that as an accredited Department the Acton police department follows procedures [and] hold themselves accountable as the chief is doing here tonight … to some of the highest standards that are set for modern policing.”
The individual that was questioned addressed the meeting as follows: “I came here recently to Acton about five months ago to help my sister with her new business … we don’t have enough employees and I’m pretty much closing every day. I generally don’t get home until like maybe two or three in the morning – those machines need a lot of maintenance – this affects my circadian rhythm … even on my day off I can’t get to sleep. … On the night in question, January 20th, it was snowing … I thought it was quite nice [and] I thought I’d occupy my time by shoveling the driveway … took the snow off the cars and I went on a walk afterwards. I was stopped by the police shortly after as the police chief outlined in his statement.
“I don’t want to mince words. I do believe that on that night in question that my Fourth Amendment rights were violated. The Fourth Amendment is a cornerstone of individual liberty in the United States – its protections are essential for free and just society. The Fourth Amendment and the Bill of Rights protects individual privacy; it limits government power; it upholds the rule of law by demanding searches and seizures be conducted according to legal procedures and preserves freedom from arbitrary arrest. The requirements for probable cause and warrants help prevent unjustified arrest and detention; so what constitutes probable cause in Massachusetts? …” He continued by questioning the formal legal basis for the police action and asserted that no trespass had occurred.
Ms. Melo-Layne questioned whether her brother was stopped due to his race, and spoke of possible bias relating to her husband’s, and a neighbor’s, experiences with the Acton police.
Residents who spoke at the meeting were generally appreciative of the police officers’ actions. Reactions ranged from “the police acted perfectly reasonably…there was no search …no seizure…” to “the situation could have been handled with greater restraint, professionalism, and consideration for individual rights.” Others spoke of the stress of even a minimum interaction with the police; one speaker described the varying physiological responses to stress situations and how that might affect a request to keep one’s hands visible.
Mr. Mangiaratti said that the community would be kept informed of any further developments. DEI director Gachugi addressed the police training question, saying that she and Chief Cogan had participated in monthly training for a year and mentioned a possible Community Forum.
Select Board member David Martin noted receipt of “factually incorrect” comments regarding police action; described the police force as well trained and professional, and asked “…do we think that the interaction would have gone differently if the person involved were white instead of of color? These are really tough questions…”. Mr. Charter said, “I’ve reviewed the body camera footage … police officers in my opinion worked in a very professional and courteous manner,” and he proposed an alternative scenario – suppose a vulnerable person needed help and was not approached?
Later in the week, Ms. Melo-Layne said to the Acton Exchange, “In Acton, as in many places, officers have broad discretion in how they handle situations. Unfortunately, that discretion isn’t always applied fairly or with proper judgment. What happened to my brother is a clear example of how that discretion can be misused, leading to unnecessary harm. No one should have to experience what he went through.”
Tom Beals is the Select Board beat reporter for the Acton Exchange.