In Massachusetts, Governor Charlie Baker is calling for a new initiative that will allow district attorneys to consider how dangerous an arrestee is when determining if they will be held in jail until their trial date.
“We’ve got to come up with a smarter way of ensuring we keep really dangerous people off our streets,” Baker said. “The thing we ought to do about it is take this notion of dangerousness and incorporate it into the process so the DAs have the ability to make the case that somebody ought not to be out.”
Deaths of Three Police Officers
Baker’s call comes after three police officers were slain. The alleged murderers have long criminal records but were not in jail. Baker wants to change that, posthaste. The three police officers were Auburn Officer Ronald Tarentino, Weymouth Sgt. Michael Chesna, and Weymouth Sgt. Sean Gannon.
Sgt. Michael Chesna
Chesna’s funeral was covered by Mass Live last summer when it occurred, and it’s clear from the memories of him by friends and family that he had much to offer. Chesna served two tours with the U.S. Army in Iraq and Afghanistan. Said one friend:
This guy had a lot more to offer than anybody could possibly imagine, and how he fought. He fought for our country and he fought for our town.