Beverly Council Shelves Police Resolution, Orders Broader First Responders Tribute

BEVERLY — September 30, 2020 — Beverly City Council unanimously pulls police-only COVID resolution, orders broader tribute to all first responders. At a special remote meeting September 30, Council President Paul Guanci and the full eight-member body voted to receive and place on file Order No. 194 and a revised version, Order No. 194A, which recognized the Beverly Police Department's pandemic work and cited a $90,000 state Department of Mental Health grant for a jail diversion worker, rather than enacting either measure. Ward 1 Councilor Todd Rotundo and Ward 5 Councilor Kathleen Feldman were tasked with drafting a replacement resolution honoring all public safety personnel, frontline workers, and healthcare professionals, with a target of two weeks. The council also unanimously reaffirmed an open letter by Ward 4 Councilor Scott Houseman calling on Mayor Michael Cahill to publicly release a police use-of-force review originally promised by September 6. Newly installed Beverly Human Rights Committee Chair Keisha Johnson and resident Alyssa Raymond Reed, a nonprofit environmental law director, were among three public speakers; Reed urged the council not to pass any police-focused resolution before the November election.