Council rejects immediate bid for federal grant to bolster BPD surveillance center

Article corrected. The council did not actually reject the grant, but instead rejected voting on it immediately.

By a 7-5 vote, the Boston City Council rejected an attempt by Councilor Michael Flaherty (at large) to immediately approve $2.55 million in federal grants to bolster the Boston Regional Intelligence Center, overseen by BPD - the same grant the council voted to reject in 2021 after police refused to reconsider its gang database and how it shares data with outside law-enforcement agencies.

The votes - on three separate grant requests - means the measure will instead go to a council committee for consideration before coming back to the council for a vote - the normal council process for any issue before t.

Flaherty used this week's commemoration of the 9/11 anniversary as the reason to immediately accept the grant - by voting for a request from Mayor Wu to accept the money. "These funds are vital, they're need to thwart anyone looking to do harm in our city," he said.

He then called for a vote in favor in honor of fellow youth hockey player, Mark Bavis of Roslindale, who died on United Flight 175 when it was crashed into the World Trade Center, as a reason to vote for the grant. "May God bless him and his family, and may God bless all the souls lost to senseless violence in our city," he said.

Councilor Ricardo Arroyo, then asked if the grant was the same one that the council rejected in 2021 because of the gang and information-sharing issues. Flaherty said it was.

Councilors Arroyo, Coletta, Durkan, Lara, Louijeune, Mejia and Worrell voted no - actually three times, for three different versions of the same grant. Councilors Baker, Breadon, Faherty, Flynn and Murphy voted yes, again, three times. Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson was not present.