Massachusetts State Troopers Going To Puerto Rico

Printed from: https://newbostonpost.com/2017/12/17/massachusetts-state-troopers-going-to-puerto-rico/

By Matt Murphy
State House News Service

Fourteen Massachusetts state troopers will be spending Christmas in Puerto Rico, and another 25 will be ringing in the New Year on the island.

The Baker administration has announced that Massachusetts will be sending 39 State Police to the island after Puerto Rico accepted the state‘s offer for law enforcement personnel to assist with security duties in the aftermath of two major hurricanes.

The announcement from the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency came just days after Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rosselló visited with Governor Charlie Baker at the State House this past week, and also sat down with Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and visited the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The State Police was planning to send 14 troopers this weekend  for a two-week rotation ending December 31, and another 25 troopers will deploy around December 29 for a two-week stint ending January 15.

The request for help came through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, a national mutual aid system between states and territories.

“These troopers follow dozens of law enforcement officers from across the Commonwealth who deployed to Puerto Rico in October, and our administration continues to provide personnel and resources to assist in recovery efforts from the devastating hurricanes that hit the island this past summer and fall,” Baker said in a statement.

The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency has previously helped facilitate the delivery of food, equipment, medical supplies, and personnel through National Guardsmen and state police from Massachusetts to Puerto Rico to aid the hurricane recovery effort.