State officials announced Thursday the appointment of the first nine members of a new Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission created by landmark policing legislation signed into law late last year.
Appointees to the so-called POST Commission include three police officers, two attorneys, a psychologist, a social worker, a retired judge who will lead the panel, and an antiviolence activist, according to a joint statement from Governor Charlie Baker and Attorney General Maura Healey. They are eligible to serve five years.
The panel will create a mandatory process for the certification of officers, oversee investigations into misconduct, and have the power to revoke an officer’s license for certain misconduct, officials said. The commission can strip an officer’s certification if he or she is convicted of a felony, knowingly files a police report containing false information, or is found to engage in other misconduct.
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Baker said the establishment of the POST Commission marks “an important step to improve public safety and increase trust between members of law enforcement and the communities they serve.”
Healey added that each appointee “brings unique expertise and experience to this Commission as we institute meaningful reform in our state and local law enforcement departments.”
By statute, Baker must choose a police chief, a retired Superior Court justice, and a social worker who has been nominated for the post by the Massachusetts chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, according to the statement.
Baker appointed retired Superior Court Judge Margaret R. Hinkle to chair the commission and Pittsfield Police Chief Michael J. Wynn and social worker Charlene D. Luma to serve as members.
Healey’s selections are Haverhill trial attorney Marsha V. Kazarosian , Boston police Detective Larry Ellison, and Boston police Officer Lawrence “Larry” Calderone, who is president of both the Massachusetts Law Enforcement Policy Group and the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association.
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Baker and Healey jointly appointed two civilian members and one member who must be nominated by the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination.
They are Dr. Hanya H. Bluestone, a licensed psychologist and chief executive of Labyrinth Psychological Services in Holden; Kimberly P. West, a partner at Ashcroft Law Firm in Boston; and Clementina M. Chéry, co-founder and chief executive of the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute in Boston.
Jeremy C. Fox can be reached at jeremy.fox@globe.com. Follow him @jeremycfox.